Ame ni Matte
by tamagopants
Summary: [Now Complete] Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz as children are separated during their escape from the research labs. A story of love, despair, hope and all the brotherly fluff that comes free with it.
1. Thunderstorm

A/N: My first FFVII fic, yay! Pre-Advent Children, brotherly fluff. Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo belong to Square Enix, but you already knew that.

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**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 1: Thunderstorm**

The dirt path that was so arid and deserted in the afternoon was now quite the opposite as rain tipped from the darkened sky and a small foot, clad in a white shoe, stepped accidentally in a puddle that was far deeper than it looked. There was an unpleasant squelching sound as the foot brought itself back up, and a relatively high pitched nasal voice muttered, "Dammit, why is it always me?" Bright green eyes stared accusingly at the backs of two other teenagers in front of him. It was typical, of course, for Kadaj to think only of himself. And it was typical, without a doubt, for the burlier of the trio – Loz – to seize this opportunity to whine.

"It's not always you, look at my shoes – they're soaked! I don't want to walk anymore!" Loz's voice was deeper, but at times, much to Kadaj's delight, the eldest's voice would unexpectedly turn shrill and return to its usual tone as if nothing had ever had happened. Yazoo was the middle brother – the peacemaker, the responsible one. Leave it to Yazoo to stop Kadaj from teasing Loz, and from Loz not to tease Kadaj. When it came to teasing Yazoo himself though, he'd merely accept it with his usual reserved air, and sooner or later, the two brothers always apologised.

"Hey, sure Yazoo's shoes aren't dirty."

Yazoo didn't need to turn round to know Kadaj was giving him a fierce glare. Within seconds, he found the youngest next to him, kicking muddy rain onto his shoes. Loz gasped, as though Kadaj had just committed the most sinful crime imaginable.

"Kadaj! You can't just do that! Mother would cry in shame if she found out you treated your older brothers like that!"

"She'd cry for shame at the sight of your face, actually," Kadaj snapped the same time Yazoo said, "Loz, don't make a fuss, it's only rainwater."

"Hah!" Kadaj jumped a few steps. His silvery, neck length hair bobbed up spiritedly, "Yazoo says don't make a fuss!"

"Kadaj, don't go so far ahead, we're stopping here to rest anyway." His slender yet surprisingly firm hand took hold of a swinging forearm. "If you keep jumping, you'll slip." He let go of the arm, and squatted down to unpack his bag, pulling out an easy-make tent.

"It's a good job we got that tent at a bargain price," Loz commented as his muscular self took charge in setting up blankets. Yazoo nodded in mild agreement, deciding to add, "And the blankets. That old man was too friendly, giving us three of them."

"Too scared, more like," Loz guffawed. Kadaj was looking between the two, frowning. "You were giving him your classic evils."

Yazoo hid a smile. "I can never understand what you mean when you say that, niisan. I have no 'evils'." He patted a corner of the makeshift sleeping bags and blankets as he sat down, as if finalising the end of the discussion, though it seemed to look more like an invite. Kadaj was still stood a few feet away, unbothered by the dismal weather that encouraged Yazoo and Loz to set up quicker.

"Kadaj, you'll freeze if you stay out there. Come sit down, the tent's all set up now." Kadaj scowled, and sat down with unnecessary heaviness between his brothers, kicking Loz's foot.

"Oy, brat, don't hog all the space. Do that, and you'll make Yazoo mad."

Yazoo rolled his eyes, pulling off his jacket and stuffing it in his bag. Being the oldest didn't mean being the smartest, and Loz was living proof of that, he noted as his fellow siblings began to squabble over a small space that was unlikely to make any difference in comfort.

"Don't tease Kadaj, niisan." Those four words were used together so often by him, the meaning and sincerity in his voice had faded over time, yet it had the desired effect. Loz grunted, rolled onto his side, and moved no more. It was envious that Loz could fall asleep so quick, and pondering that thought, Yazoo snuggled into the blankets, looking up at the plastic covering their heads three feet above him. He felt Kadaj curl up in the warmth of the blankets, muttering something to himself before the half shut eyes closed completely. Yazoo watched him for a few moments, anticipating for the green orbs to peek open and the cheeky grin to show, but it seemed that Kadaj was actually getting to sleep.

He rolled to his side – away from both his brothers – and shut his eyes. In doing so, the rain seemed to sound harder, more torrential, and behind his eyelids, he could see a quick flash of white. Yazoo's naturally narrow eyes snapped open.

"…Hey. Niichan?"

"Yes Kadaj?"

"There's like, a super spikey rock under my pillow." Kadaj sounded sleepy, so Yazoo sat up, gently lifted the pillow with one hand resting on the back of Kadaj's silky head, and felt underneath it.

"So there is." Yazoo tossed the stone out the tent lightly. "You should be able to sleep better now."

"Like I can – it's thundering isn't it?" Yazoo didn't need to answer, since, as if by rehearsal, a large thunderclap sounded, and Kadaj – where Yazoo was expecting him to hide under the blankets – sat bolt upright, the mischievous grin clear in the dark more than anything else.

"Hey!" he whispered loudly. "Let's wake up Loz! He'll start crying, won't he? Won't he, niichan?"

Probably, Yazoo could feel himself burning to answer, but instead, he took Kadaj's shoulder, and shook his head. "Let him sleep – we've walked a long way."

The all-too-familiar pout came onto Kadaj's face.

"Stop giving me evils."

Yazoo blinked. "I'm merely looking at you the way I usually do, Kadaj…" He swore he could see Kadaj's hair bristling in anger, but it turned out to be mischief, as per usual.

"No, you're giving me EVILS!" Kadaj bellowed the last word (startlingly loud for someone so small). Loz snorted rowdily, rolled over, and sat up – now completing the set of brothers who were sitting up in bed rather than trying to sleep.

"Oy, brat! The heck is wrong with you?" He glared at the youngest, who was grinning brightly at Yazoo. "Brat!"

"Niichan, you shouldn't deny you're giving evils." The grin widened, and he lay back down with an air of evident triumph. Yazoo could see he was watching Loz out the corner of his eyes. The middle brother rolled his eyes, rubbed one side of his head, and got ready to say, "Don't cry Loz", as lightning blazed across the sky and thunder crashed.

"Oh…man, it's shit weather out there now…" Each word seemed to have less and less confidence, and grimacing, Loz swallowed. "…How am I going to sleep in this now?"

He blinked away his tears, and suddenly frowned. Two and two clicked, and Loz rounded on Kadaj, shaking the youngest's shoulders.

"You! You woke me up didn't you! Brat! Scum!"

"It weren't me, Yazoo was giving me evils!" Kadaj whined piteously. It seemed well rehearsed. Kadaj was a natural at feigning innocence. Yazoo could have felt sorry for him being battered by Loz if Kadaj wasn't dropping him in it.

"Look, just so we can get some sleep, stop quarrelling. Kadaj, apologise to your brother, and niisan, stop trying to strangle him." Kadaj took apologising to his brother as meaning a good display of his tongue, and Loz, who had let go obediently, mumbled something involving the words 'brat' and 'so childish', and looked over at Yazoo.

"When we reach the next city, I'm going to get myself my _own_ tent, so I never have to put up with this again!"

"No you won't, niisan." Yazoo smirked, but it was lost in the darkness of the tent. "Our money is used for necessary items. Your own tent is a desire."

"Bow down to the evil one!" Kadaj exclaimed out of the blue, slapping Yazoo's back playfully whilst bringing his knees up to his chest as he sat up. Yazoo found himself rubbing his temple tiredly and with a sore back. Loz started to snicker on seeing Kadaj lift up strands of Yazoo's long snowy hair, making him look like he'd received an electric shock from something. Presently though, there was a large thunderclap, and all three jumped. Loz's snickers died out, and Kadaj stopped murmuring 'Evil…evil…' in what was meant to be a scary voice.

Yazoo wasn't sure if either of his brothers had noticed the lightning before, illuminating the tent and casting spots of black on the greenish sheet where the raindrops were rolling down. He wasn't fond of thunderstorms, but his anxiety wasn't going to improve the situation. Loz looked ready to burst into full-scale tears, and Kadaj's eyes were abnormally wide. Yazoo opened his mouth to say something reassuring, but the silence was broken by Kadaj laughing nervously.

"…Heh heh…see that? We were all like this at the same time." He jumped in mock fright, waving his arms and biting his bottom lip. "We were all like that, we were."

Loz began to chuckle, though with the same apprehension as Kadaj was pretending not to have.

"Yeah, we were as well. Even Yazoo!"

"…I think it caught all of us by surprise," Yazoo said mildly. "What terrible weather."

There was a murmur of concurrence, and swallowing, Loz mumbled, "It looks like the sky's crying for us…do you think Mother's crying too?"

"…I'm not sure, niisan," Yazoo chose to answer vaguely. His swept his gaze around the tent, seeing Loz's feet sticking out the end of the blankets, their bags in a pile, the flap open the tiniest fraction. Kadaj had been watching Yazoo's knife-like, acute gaze, and crawled over to the flap, bringing a green orb to it. His oversized T-shirt slid to one side down a shoulder.

"…Do you think the thunderstorm will be here all night, niichan? Will we get lost, do you think? Will we find Mother?"

"…I don't know, Kadaj." Yazoo was being unclear again, and as the lightning flashed again, Kadaj leapt away from the flap, cat-like, seeing both brothers in a millisecond of clear light. For that millisecond, Yazoo almost looked as though…almost looked like…

"Kadaj?" Yazoo sounded genuinely concerned. "Why are you looking at me strangely?"

The youngest of the three was silent for a few moments, but it was long enough to arouse suspicion – suspicious behaviour that was Yazoo's responsibility to respond to. Loz had said once that Yazoo's eyes always looked as though he was scrutinising everything for faults. Yazoo wriggled himself out of the blankets, edging over to his younger brother and sitting by him.

"Did the lightning scare you Kadaj?" Loz was looking ready to hurl a smart comment like pointing out how Kadaj teased him so much for being afraid of storms. Yazoo shot Loz a simple cautioning but slightly intimidating look (not too different from his usual expression), and wrapped a slim arm around Kadaj, who was now staring back at Yazoo with a searching gaze.

"…You look like him," whispered the youngest. Yazoo blinked slowly. "Like niisama."

Kadaj could have been referring to Loz, but Yazoo knew that Loz was never 'niisama', nor did he look anything like him. Kadaj was clearly talking about the one person that only he seemed to be able to see, and General Sephiroth could only be drawn in Yazoo's mind according to Kadaj's description of him.

"You look like him more than ever." Kadaj shifted away from Yazoo, but once again, like always, Yazoo's strength overpowered his futile struggle.

"But I'm not him, Kadaj." He pulled Kadaj closer, and kissed the top of his head. Kadaj's smell was pleasant. It was familiar. Yazoo felt the heavy yet reassuring weight of blankets over his shoulders, and saw in the dimness of their tent, Loz settle down by them too. The eldest forced a smile, which Yazoo assumed was meant to make him look brave and unafraid, and patted Kadaj's shoulder.

"We'll find Mother," said Loz clearly. "We'll reach the next city, get loads of supplies, and we'll _find_ her."

"It will take more than rain and flashes of light to stop us from reaching her," Yazoo said warmly. He gave another heartening kiss to Kadaj's forehead, and clapped Loz's shoulder nearest to him.

"You'll need to get a job at the city when we get there. Money's low."

"Me? Job?" Loz pointed to himself, staring at Yazoo. The middle one was under the amusing impression that Loz thought he was speaking a different language.

"Of course," replied Yazoo. "I may be able to get one, though I'm not of age yet…"

"I'll look like some…some…_weird _freak if I get a job – how the heck am I supposed to know what to do? All the forms and stuff…" Yazoo could sense those tears brimming below the green eyes.

"Don't cry Loz," he said absently.

"Are we weird?" Kadaj spoke, lifting his small head so abruptly, it caught Yazoo by surprise and hit him under the chin. "Weird? Are we weird, niichan?"

Yazoo lowered his gaze a fraction. They were a travelling group of two teenagers and a little kid. The eldest one was a crybaby, the middle one had an air of unwelcoming enigma around him, and the youngest had such violent, sudden mood swings, it was impossible to label him normal. In addition, they had equally silver hair, albeit Yazoo's was a lot more ghostly than the others, and Loz's tended to frizz in the rain. And finally, their eyes were exactly the same, pea green in colour with narrow, slitted pupils that made them look like snakes a human body…Loz's too-close-together eyes that sparked off some sort of unfriendliness, Kadaj's raving, mad glare and Yazoo's narrow, unapproachable gaze…What about them wasn't weird?

"…No, Kadaj. We're not weird." Yazoo rubbed the youngest's back. "We're not weird. Now let's get back to sleep."

"…Let's wait for the storm to finish first."

"Okay, Kadaj."

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A/N: First chapter finished! Review please! Next chapter: Loz goes to find himself a job. 


	2. Surname

A/N: Just a few bits of small information:

-- niisan, niichan and niisama are all names for an older brother. –chan is more childish, and –sama is an ending that sounds more respectful. -san is normal, I guess.

-- Kadaj is around 8 in this fic whilst Yazoo and Loz are around 13 and 14 respectively.

Thanks to those who've reviewed!

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**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 2: Surname**

Yazoo's eyes opened to find another pair – a lot wider – staring back at him. The face grinned its naturally mischievous grin. It seemed that last night's fright and anxiety of the unfathomable General had gone.

"Heh heh, niichan, you're last to wake up." Yazoo blinked, only just aware that Kadaj's face was only inches away from his – proof that he was half-asleep still, he would've created a gap between him and his brother by now. Instead, Kadaj moved away, pointing over to Loz's side of the tent.

"Even the rock woke up before niichan." Yazoo sat up, observing the empty space and the unmade blankets. He could tell that due to his poor visibility, his hair was a state. At least someone found it funny.

"Your hair's real messy, niichan." Kadaj flashed a smile whilst reaching over for some of the silver strands. "It's nice. I wish I had long hair like yours."

"…Thank you, though it's a liability more than anything else," Yazoo found himself answering in his usual vague manner, and moving Kadaj's hand away politely, heaved himself out from the blankets. Without being told to do so, the youngest brother left the tent to give Yazoo privacy. Yazoo got dressed slowly at first, in no hurry at all to continue their aimless trudge in hope of finding a city. Then there was the audible sound of Kadaj laughing raucously and somebody crying.

"Heh heh! Take that! That's what you get for trying to sneak in food without niichan's permission!"

"Brat! Come 'ere you, I'll show you what a real punch is!"

Yazoo stuck his head out the tent, not at all surprised when he saw Kadaj in a headlock, flailing his skinny legs and arms about, powerless against his brother. He sighed, pulled on his mud-spattered trainers and left the tent. He patted Loz's taut shoulder lightly.

"The tent needs to be put away, niisan." He looked over to Kadaj's wildly shaking head. The youngest was still laughing even in a headlock. "Kadaj, you can help me put the blankets away."

"Oh, I _would_, niichan, but I'm getting strangled at the moment." Yazoo could clearly see a vicious green gaze behind the silver hair. Kadaj gave one final kick hitting Loz squarely on the knee.

"You can't behave like that when we're in the city," said Yazoo as he passed a neatly folded blanket to a now-sulking Kadaj, who never really liked being reprimanded. Loz – as ever – took all Yazoo-Reprimands to heart and would occasionally sniff. Yazoo sighed. "We'd get sent out of wherever we stay if we behave so childishly and cause trouble. We'd get sent back." He paused significantly. A millisecond of fright flashed across all three of their faces, and bitter memories played through their minds painfully. There was a nervous cough from Yazoo, now regretting his mention of where they'd be sent back. "Anyway…you have to act your age, niisan, and Kadaj, although being mischievous is your nature, you have to grow out of it for all our sakes."

"…Kadaj punched me, Yazoo, you know he's the one who always starts it…" Loz wiped his nose, and eyebrows formed a sad expression. "…Don't yell at me."

"I'm not yelling," said Yazoo automatically. He never yelled – he never felt the need to, and all of his points came across easily, no matter what tone of voice.

"It was a _playful_ punch," Kadaj muttered huffily. "Didn't even hurt did it."

Yazoo chose to ignore them and leave the bickering two to it, packing away by himself, and hence, taking three times as long as he had planned. Once setting off for the next city, Loz and Kadaj said nothing to each other and whenever Yazoo tried to start a conversation (which he rarely did), he would be rewarded with two morose glares. It was reaching midday when the customary whining began.

"Yazoo, I'm hungry."

"I'm bored, niichan."

Yazoo set his gaze in front of him rather than behind. "Not long now. Niisan, there's food in your bag. Kadaj, come here with me and I'll think up of a game we can play."

No little brother joined Yazoo though, so it was apparent that he was still in a bad mood. The minutes passed, becoming hours, and the sky clouded quickly, darkening their path and looming over them, threatening to rain once again. It seemed as though that any form of civilisation had disappeared, and they'd have to travel forever to an unattainable goal. Yazoo felt something take hold of his left hand as it began to rain a little. He smiled faintly, and gripped the small hand that was Kadaj's.

"It's okay, Kadaj, we'll be stopping soon. It's very dark all of a sudden."

"Hey, Yazoo, see that?" Loz squinted his eyes searchingly. "Looks like a light or something."

Yazoo looked ahead, and as they walked closer, more and more lights appeared, and with dawning realisation, Kadaj exclaimed, "It's a city!"

Kadaj let go of Yazoo. In the bad light, Yazoo could only see Kadaj for a few seconds before the youngest disappeared from view ahead, leaping in the air and racing down the dirt path.

"Niichan! Hurry up!" the boy's voice rang through the dark. Loz grinned at Yazoo before breaking into a run. Reaching nearer and nearer to the luminosity where it was impossible not to recognise them as house lights, Yazoo saw Loz and Kadaj in a narrow yet welcoming street, the elder one already starting a conversation with a passerby, and the youngest peering into a shop window, exclaiming his excitement.

"Niichan, niichan!" Kadaj ran over to the approaching Yazoo. His arms were outstretched, asking for a hug. "They have food in that shop – really big cakes and everything! Pass me gil!"

"Kadaj, we've only just got here," Yazoo laughed, catching his brother and swinging him round lightly. "We don't have much money, and we need to find a place to stay first."

Loz rolled his eyes at the sight of Kadaj hopping from foot to foot animatedly. "Oy, stop with that dance. Yazoo, we're in a place called Kalm, and there's an inn not too far from here – I just asked, and once you've stopped wetting yourself with the sight of food, brat, we might as well go check in there. It's not too late."

"I'm _not_ wetting myself," Kadaj snapped back, trailing after Yazoo as he began to walk. "I'm hungry, I'm sleepy, my feet hurt."

Kadaj continued to moan and complain to himself (since he knew that nothing would change until they reached the inn), and Loz, throwing disgruntled glances at the youngest every now and then, prided himself in taking the lead for once, refusing to tell Yazoo the directions to the inn.

"See? Kalm Ounty Inn."

"Ounty?" Yazoo blinked, and looked up at the peeling letters above the dusty window. "It's missing a few letters I think." He made out some lightened parts of the wooden frame. "A C and an R."

"Kalm _Country_ Inn." Kadaj nodded smugly, sticking his tongue out at Loz. Yazoo pretended not to notice. He had lectured and tried to intervene too many times today, he just wanted a warm bath and go to sleep.

"Kalm Country Inn sounds quite nice and cosy," he remarked, aware that in his eyes stood a small shabby building that looked ready to crumble any minute. "Let's see if there are any spare rooms."

Yazoo waited for Loz to reply, but the eldest was tearing after Kadaj, who Yazoo had only just noticed to have waltzed into the inn confidently.

"Hello!"

Yazoo raced in after his brothers, catching Kadaj's jacket sleeve, slipping through his fingers only split-seconds afterwards from a bad grip. He stumbled into Loz, who was in the doorway, looking sheepish as Kadaj waved to a friendly-looking middle-aged woman behind a tatty brown desk.

"Would you look at that, Dominic," the woman said, "there's two little children here. Perhaps they're lost?"

A tall man with a goatee came out from a door behind the desk, blinking and leaning over the desk somewhat intimidatingly.

"…I seem to be able to see three, Evangeline." The woman's dark eyes rested on Yazoo, who was only just visible behind the large frame of Loz. She smiled.

"So there is. Can I help you children? It's a bit late to be playing outside…"

Kadaj marched up to the desk, proving to be shorter than it, but Loz got there first.

"We need a room to stay in for a few nights," he said.

The woman named Evangeline blinked, and the stern looking man Yazoo assumed to be her husband was frowning suspiciously. Stumbling down the stairs to the right of the lobby was a small boy around the same age as Kadaj, clutching what looked like a very mangled cuddly doll. A tubby, round faced woman with a purple dress that made her look like – in Yazoo's secret opinion – an oversized plum, ran after her son, taking one pudgy hand without caring that it was gooey and dirty.

"Don't run ahead. We have to wait for your father before we can go out for dinner." She looked at the three silver haired boys with a warm look, almost apologetically, as if she knew that the three were motherless. Yazoo looked over to see that Kadaj was staring after the little boy, his green gaze unblinking and seemingly emotionless – Yazoo knew that look, but his attention was diverted to his other brother.

Loz was sniffing a little, and though Yazoo never really minded his older brother being such a crybaby, suddenly felt embarrassed for it in the company of other people. He kicked his brother's ankle tactfully as Evangeline and Dominic waved goodbye to the plum-woman and her son.

"Stop crying, Loz," Yazoo hissed. "Keep it together for a minute." He strode over to Evangeline's desk, taking Kadaj's wrist as the youngest one attempted to run up the shabby green carpet of the stairs.

"Do you have a spare room we could have for around three nights?"

Evangeline looked more than happy to provide them with a room, flicking through a big book in front her quickly and pulling a key off its hook behind her, however, Dominic, who had done nothing but stare at the three moodily, spoke up.

"…Shouldn't your mother or someone be accompanying you?"

Yazoo stopped counting his money, Kadaj's singing to himself faltering with a rather out-of-tune ending, and Loz, forgetting that he was supposed to be 'keeping it together', began to cry. Yazoo resisted the urge to treat Loz to a piercing look.

"Actually, that's why we need to stay a few nights here – we're travelling quite far to find her."

Dominic looked down at Loz's worn shoes, over to Yazoo's tired face and at the small boy squatting down on his heels, rocking back and forth with his face hidden.

"…Hmm," was all the man said before heading into the room where he was originally. Evangeline's warm gaze softened more as she saw Loz standing by the corner, wiping his eyes and sniffing.

"We have a room. If you'd just write your name here." She placed the book in front of Yazoo, who, taking the pen and pondering for a moment, scrawled down the name 'Yazoo', and handed the pen back.

"Your surname too, please." Evangeline watched curiously as Yazoo took the pen again, and looked at his brothers for the tiniest bit of help. They weren't exactly cooperating, with one curled up on the floor in exhaustion and the other blubbering by the door with bloodshot eyes. Yazoo sighed, thought for a few moments knowing that every second was making him look more and more suspicious, and next to 'Yazoo', wrote 'Gast'.

He looked at what he had just written. It didn't sound too bad, Yazoo Gast.

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A/N: Okay, I said that this chapter would be Loz finding his job, but I didn't think that writing about finding a place to stay would take so long…oh well, Loz's job is for the _next_ chapter. Stay tuned, and don't forget to review! 


	3. Threat

A/N: I'm on a roll with this story now – there's some actual plotline introduced in this chapter. I'm glad Yazoo/Kadaj/Loz are seemingly in character – it's tricky to write about them when they're young. As always, thanks to reviewers, and don't forget to review this chapter!

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**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 3: Threat**

Yazoo was gripping the worn, rough banister with one hand, leaning forwards so that he could see down the stairs towards the lobby. Loz was stood there, in a conversation with Evangeline, fidgeting with his chubby fingers. A warm weight pressed against Yazoo's back, and he turned his head round a little to see Kadaj smiling at him, his small arms wrapping themselves round his older brother in a possessive manner Yazoo had grown used to.

"What's Loz doing, niichan?"

Yazoo smirked. "He's supposed to be asking for a job. It looks quite promising. Evangeline's actually very good at deciphering sniffs and snivels language."

Yazoo received an unexpected kiss on the cheek from the boy behind him. "You're more reliable, niichan, why didn't you ask to help that lady?"

"My job is to look after you, isn't it?" He smiled. Loz headed over to him (throwing a moody look at Kadaj swinging off from Yazoo's shoulders innocently), wiping under his nose with the back of his hand. "How did it go, Loz?"

"She says I can help her around in the lobby, and she'll knock off the fee for our next two nights. I'll be sorting out paperwork. I'll have you know." Loz looked smugly in Kadaj's direction. "Seems the only person who's not being useful is you."

"Leave him, niisan," muttered Yazoo, "he's too young." His fixed his gaze back to the lobby, where his interest really was, to where Dominic was talking to Evangeline, his eyes sweeping the homely room piercingly, not differing at all from Yazoo's own.

"Evangeline also said that…Yazoo? Are you even listening?" Loz looked over to Dominic, and back to his brother. "What's wrong?"

Yazoo watched for a few moments as Dominic flicked through the large book in front of Evangeline. He was running a finger down the page. Yazoo swore he had just seen Dominic's mouth sound out the word 'Gast'.

"…It's nothing, niisan." Yazoo was never fond of lying, and it was rare for him to do so, therefore neither of his brothers suspected anything. On the contrary, Kadaj began to laugh into his ear, clutching him tighter.

"Niichan, you're just tired, you want to sleep?"

Loz lead the way up the stairs back to their room, Yazoo carrying Kadaj on his back. The room they were staying in was only just big enough to fit in three beds, a small bathroom and a dressing table. The carpet was shabby and merely strands of brown in some places, the wallpaper was peeling and the window hadn't been cleaned for so long it looked like that outside was an eternal fog, yet there was something about the place that made Yazoo feel welcome and warm. Perhaps it was because, as far as the three could remember, their 'bedroom' was an intensely white room that echoed every sound, where doors opened to let in figures that were also white, with eyes that seared their hearts with pain so effortlessly. The lab.

Yazoo was so absorbed in his thoughts of the unbearable, that he didn't notice for a few minutes that he was unconsciously getting ready for bed, and both his brothers were snuggled under their quilts. He switched off two lamps, leaving one on to give him enough light to get changed. The springs of his bed groaned despite the weight only being that of a child; Yazoo fluffed up his pillow and sank his head into its warmth, looking up at the stained ceiling. His increasing suspicion of Dominic tarnished his happiness somewhat – it wasn't something he wanted to worry Loz with either, nor did he want to uncover his frightened self to the youngest of the three who relied on him so much.

He pushed back his fringe, annoyed with himself for being unable to sleep. He wanted to be like Loz, to fall asleep in a matter of seconds; he wanted to experience the amazing dreams Kadaj would tell him animatedly in the mornings. He chewed his lower lip, sticking one frightfully skinny arm under his head.

Several hours into the night, Yazoo saw Kadaj roll over rather violently in his bed, making a choked noise – it looked as though he was having a bad dream, but Kadaj could never get comfortable in his sleep. Still, he didn't want to risk leaving little Kadaj prone and vulnerable with the shadowy General that haunted his dreams, so Yazoo dragged himself out of the warmth of his bed, sat by Kadaj, and switched on the lamp. In doing so, Yazoo also unintentionally knocked off an ashtray that sat on the table, where it crashed onto the floor, smashing the silence.

Loz grunted, and one of his feet stuck out the side of his bed haphazardly. Rolling his eyes and wondering how Loz could sleep through anything, Yazoo was met with Kadaj's wide eyes staring at him, reflecting the orange light from the patterned lamp nearby. It was then that Yazoo realised – a second too late – that if Kadaj was having thoughts about Sephiroth, it wasn't a good idea to be woken from his sleep to see someone who looked like him. Yazoo withdrew quickly, but the youngest reached out for him. He gladly returned the hug, laying down next to him.

"…Talk to me, niichan," Kadaj whispered.

"Was he there?" Yazoo refrained from using Sephiroth's name – it was almost a taboo that the three had instinctively decided upon…using his name always stabbed Yazoo with the harsh reality that he was merely a copy of him, nothing more to anyone.

"He was smiling at me." Kadaj looked away, laughing nervously. "Kind of freaky really – it makes me wonder what he's smiling about."

"…You shouldn't fear him," replied Yazoo, attempting to sound as calm as possible at the thought of someone as innocent as his brother seeing the General, merely closing his eyes and being face to face with an all-knowing, malicious curl of the lips that were the General's. Yazoo stroked his brother's hair, taking a quick breath at the sound of someone walking past their room.

He was being paranoid, it wasn't as though Dominic was onto them – it was like how Loz had said happily only a few hours ago: that Dominic was being sour because Evangeline was paying more attention to them (especially Kadaj) than her husband.

"What are we doing tomorrow, niichan?" Yazoo looked away from the door, back at Kadaj's orbs gazing up at him from his pillow expectantly.

"Tomorrow…we'll go to that cake shop you saw when we first arrived. I'll treat you whilst we have the opportunity."

"Oh," Kadaj smiled cheekily, "as in whilst we have Loz-Free time?"

Yazoo furrowed his light eyebrows gracelessly, creasing his forehead. "Eh, I was thinking more along the lines that we won't be in this town for too long." Kadaj touched Yazoo's arm carefully, as though afraid of hurting it. Yazoo sat up without thinking when he thought he saw through the small gap under the door, in the light of the corridor outside, something move. And was that a voice he just heard, that belonged to neither him nor his brothers? Kadaj pulled away hesitantly, unspeaking and sitting up in his bed, watching with curious eyes as Yazoo walked over to the door. The middle brother took hold of the cold brass knob.

"Niichan?"

Yazoo pulled the door open slightly, where the light illuminated Loz's bed to reveal a blissfully sleeping figure. Looking out, he could see a wall lamp opposite him, the small flame inside the ornate glass flickering, conducting a dance of shadows across the walls. He could hear more voices, mostly male, but one was unmistakably Evangeline's. And he realised he had just ignored Kadaj.

Yazoo closed the door.

Kadaj was looking at him still, but the curiosity in his eyes had been replaced by something rather unwelcoming. Yazoo gazed back at the youngest brother glaring at him with such a fierce intensity. His teeth were showing.

"…Go wake your brother, Kadaj," Yazoo muttered, pulling on his trousers and shoes. He was anticipating an uncooperative answer, and sure enough, it rang across the room filled with cutting spite.

"_Why_."

"Don't be like that, Kadaj." Yazoo buttoned his loose cotton shirt. "Do as I say for a minute. I'm going to check on something. And Kadaj…" He looked behind him at the sulking youngster. "Wake him up quietly – don't upset him, okay?" He left the room before he could hear Kadaj launch into complaints, but almost a second after he had closed the door, it opened again.

"Why have you gone funny all of a sudden?" Kadaj was glowering at him with a rage Yazoo could never have. "Ever since I mentioned niisama…you're jealous because niisama cares for me too, you and stupid Loz aren't my only brothers, niisama cares for me more than you do, he wouldn't keep secrets from me, he wouldn't - -"

Yazoo felt something inside of him pang painfully at Kadaj's hurtful words, albeit childish, were a true insight into how vicious and wild he could get, believing blindly a person in his dreams could care more for him than Yazoo himself.

"Quiet, Kadaj," he whispered, "you're being silly. No one cares for you more than Loz and I do."

He looked straight in Kadaj's narrowed eyes with equal coldness. A few seconds later, Kadaj muttered, "I'm coming too." He gave Yazoo a small push, and they crept down the stairs, peering down them to the lobby.

Besides Evangeline and Dominic, there were three men that Yazoo didn't recognise. Kadaj seemed to have forgotten about his and Yazoo's heated dispute only seconds ago, and was now clutching his older brother's shirt sleeve anxiously.

"…I've already called the local orphanages to see if any of them have missing children," Evangeline was saying fiercely, "those children are no problem at all, and I have no idea what makes you think they are dangerous, and heavens, how you even knew they were here in the first place."

"…I rang them," Dominic muttered almost incoherently. "As far as I know Professor Gast didn't have any sons, so I rang up where he worked. Those three – Yazoo, Roz and whatever the last one's called – belong to that research lab."

"Someone else's children you mean?" said Evangeline. One of the three men shifted uncomfortably on his bow-legged feet, mumbling, "…In a way. Either way, we have to take them back."

Yazoo couldn't keep his eyes in focus, and his breathing was becoming ragged and difficult. Kadaj, leaning against him earlier, looked up at him with frightened orbs.

"…I'll wake up Loz." He stumbled up the stairs, and Yazoo could hear him begin to sob. "Stop them, niichan…I don't want to go back."

Yazoo wiped sweat off his forehead and took a few moments to calm down and think. Both his brothers were depending on him, but the thought of the men in white coats, the metallic table, the tubes, the living nightmare of returning to the lab was hindering his thoughts, snatching away his dependable air as a brother, leaving him quite alone on the stairs.

* * *

A/N: A plot! Yay! Dominic was meant to be a nice bloke, but I kind of accidentally turned him into a grass. Oh well…next chapter: the three brothers plan an escape! Review please, the button's only a few pixels away…!


	4. Divide

A/N: This is the hardest chapter so far, but hopefully, it's all right… Thanks to reviewers – I have seven now!

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 4: Divide**

Yazoo hated white. Whilst in the research labs, whether he was unconscious or conscious, all he could see was white. White coats, white light that burned his eyes, white eyes that reflected no hint of compassion at all. He had been labelled 2-4-A, whilst Loz was 2-4-B, and finally Kadaj, the last in Lab 4 on the 2nd floor, was 2-4-C. During his musings, Yazoo had wondered if their labellings were coincidental that he could think up such fitting names to them. A for apathetic, B for blubbering, and C for chaotic. He remembered name tags above their heads on the pristine tiles, looming over them as a cruel way to remind them that that was all they were.

Sometimes, he'd be able to witness true nature of where they were. He wasn't ever able to sit up, but he'd hear it, laying there on the cold metallic table. He was ever quiet, enduring pain and receiving no comfort. Loz would sniff ever so quietly, weeping uncontrollably whilst no one offered a hand or even a tissue. Little Kadaj though, the youngest of the three but condemned as the most crucial in the experiment's findings, would scream and shriek, writhing in the grip of plastic hands, his voice echoing off the walls. Yazoo remembered that it sounded as though ten young boys were shrieking. Who would have thought that a small boy could have such powerful lungs, or was it just from the agony of it all?

Yazoo, the middle brother, was not someone to rule out the possibility that Kadaj had endured more pain than he had. When one lab assistant had carelessly left Kadaj unbound on his bed, the youngster didn't need telling twice about escaping. He was fast on his feet for someone who hadn't been taught how to walk. But, Yazoo reminded himself, that was proof that the experiment succeeded. Experiments A, B and C learned and assimilated information, people's faces, sense of direction and their ability to train themselves physically a lot faster than that of an average person. Yazoo learned fastest, but Loz was quicker to make use of his knowledge practically. Kadaj was a mixture of both, learning and understanding at an incredible rate.

There was something amongst the life confined in four white walls that perhaps, kept the brothers going. A warm, gentle hand and a matching voice that used to tell them that everything would be all right, that it was okay to cry and feel angry. Yazoo remembered vaguely Professor Gast's face, a blurred long face that would lean over his, clear blue eyes that seemed to have everything Yazoo was deprived of. Professor Gast would – strangely, when no one else from the lab was there – let Kadaj sit up, talk to him and allow for Loz to look out the window, whilst Yazoo, shy as usual, would keep his distance from the white coated man at first before curiosity got the better of him, and he too would stand on his toes to peer out the tinted windows.

Then, mysteriously, a few years back, Professor Gast never visited them again.

------------

Looking round the corner, down the stairs, memories of lab coats, strong acidic smells and muttering voices came flooding into Yazoo's mind, this time unaccompanied by the reassuring thought that Professor Gast would be waiting for them. He fidgeted with his hair nervously, biting his lip and willing himself not to join his brothers in crying. He couldn't break down in front of his brothers when they needed him to be strong for them.

There was a large thump from upstairs, and a familiar sound of bawling.

"That's them," Dominic muttered, "they're awake. See, Evangeline? They have minds like demons, acting innocent but preying on us secretly…"

"Please, they're only children," Yazoo heard Evangeline say as he staggered up the stairs with half the grace he usually had, "all that rubbish about demon children, which books have you been reading?"

"They're more than just children, ma'am," a researcher said. Yazoo saw him out the corner of his eyes as he looked round slightly, coming up the stairs after him, "they're very powerful, and harmful to anyone. Please excuse us for intruding on your inn like this."

Yazoo never heard Evangeline's answer, since he was already in his room, slamming the door shut and leaning against it. To his surprise, he found Kadaj ripping off his bedsheets, tying them up so that it created a long grey rope a slight bit longer than him. Loz yanked a wall lamp off from its position, snapping off the curled gold stand and sticking it under the door, wedging it. He sniffed, wiping his nose.

"Good work, niisan," Yazoo whispered shakily. "We can escape from the window, though I think Kadaj has already thought of that."

The youngest brother had wrenched the window open, bringing a chilly but welcoming gust of wind. He stuck his head out and looked down, and then, without any warning, lifted himself out, hanging the bedsheet-rope around his neck. Ignoring the knocks on the door and the handle rattling, Yazoo dragged Loz to the window, hearing Kadaj uttering "I'm not going back, I'm not going back, there's no way I'm going back" as he descended down the wall carefully at first, but slipping and landing painfully in a flowerbed. Yazoo tossed out their bags, making sure Loz (who had cried the whole way down) was okay before climbing down after them, seeing the door smash open at last to reveal three researchers, tired from shouting and banging on a stubborn door that wouldn't budge.

"Are you going to tell me what that's for, Kadaj?" Loz asked through a sniffle. Kadaj looked at the sheets hanging round his neck.

"This? I'm going to use it to strangle anyone who's going to try and take me back _there_." There was a dangerous, livid look in the child's eyes. Loz swallowed.

"Seems like such a harsh way to thank Evangeline for being so kind to us, damaging her inn," Yazoo commented, grabbing his bags and daring to look up at three men scrambling to look out the window.

"It's going to be worse," muttered Kadaj. He rolled up his pyjama sleeves and marched back into the lobby. Yazoo could only stare and stand around stupidly next to a sobbing brother as he heard Kadaj shout obscenities and threats. Evangeline was shrieking, Dominic was yelling, and Loz unhelpfully mumbled, "Do you think Kadaj is strangling them with his bedsheet?"

A few moments later, Kadaj was out of the inn, holding in his small hands a bag. The jingling inside it could only suggest that Kadaj had just stolen Evangeline's money. If he had the time, Yazoo would've rolled his eyes, but on seeing their pursuers, he took hold of his brothers' hands.

And they fled. They fled until their legs broke down in protest, but they were, after all the experiments they had undergone, still the legs of children. And the researchers caught up, puffing and panting, running in fear of what their boss would say to them should they fail to catch his projects. Three researchers each grabbed one of the brothers. Loz started to cry even louder, Yazoo struggled helplessly, and the poor researcher who had fatefully chosen to grab Kadaj, wailed in pain as a set of teeth bit his fingers, and hands scratched at his face. The bedsheet-rope was a mass of cloth on the pavement, failing to protect the child who had made it.

Yazoo could hear a car of some sort driving past. Its bright headlights stunned the researchers momentarily, and using it as an opportunity, he twisted the arm grabbing him and made for the car, flagging it down. He could hear Loz pushing past the researchers to join him, and Kadaj clung against Yazoo.

"Hey, drive us out of here!"

"You what?" The driver, a lot of his face hidden beneath ragged hair and a cap, didn't look at all pleased. "You call me over just for that? I thought you guys were getting mugged or something, but you're _children_!"

"Just do it, please!" Yazoo took a leaf out of Kadaj's book and bit the researcher's hand, vowing to himself that he would train himself up in the future to be capable of fighting without having to resort to biting of all things.

"Please, Sir!" Kadaj held up his bag of gil, and green slitted eyes that were previously flashing and narrowed in insane malevolence were wide, watery and utterly adorable. The driver shifted in his seat awkwardly, and uttered, "…All right then."

In an instant, Kadaj and Loz were in the car, but Yazoo found he couldn't move his body. Three pairs of hands had clung onto him with no chance of escape. One man triumphantly said, "If we take hold of one, there's no way the two will go without him."

"Niichan!" Kadaj's hands were sticking out the window, Yazoo could just about make out, but it was true – it was either an escape for three or an escape for none at the rate they were going. He jerked his head to the driver.

"Go!" It had been difficult to say at first, but Yazoo was feeling his confidence come back. He desperately tried to ignore his brothers' shouts, the car door opening. Yazoo shut it again, keeping a hold on it as Kadaj banged his fists against the glass.

"Go! Get my brothers out of here!"

"Y-you sure? How about you?" The driver was looking so uncomfortable, but there was gil sitting in his lap, and cold green eyes that were Yazoo's were boring into him. The researchers were reaching for the door, shouting at the driver.

"Sir, we have a duty to take those boys back to ShinRa Corporation's Rese…"

"Just do it, will you!" Yazoo yelled. The driver reached for the handbrake.

"Too bad for you," he said to the man who had addressed him earlier, "I've never liked that company."

The car screeched and set off down the road. The researchers watched helplessly, loosening their grip on Yazoo. Yazoo didn't try to run though, it didn't seem important anymore. His brothers had gotten away, and it was the best feeling he had had for a long time. He could still hear cries of "Niichan! Niichan!" The last he had seen of his beloved brothers were their tear stricken faces pressing against the back window of the car, shouting to him. But Yazoo was sure they knew it was important for them to escape – if it only took one, why sacrifice another two more?

He felt something prick his arm as a researcher muttered, "Well, at least there's one who's well behaved. Hojo'll just have to make do with just one of his 'specimens'. Seriously, why doesn't he come to fetch the brats himself?"

_Don't cry, Loz. Don't worry, Kadaj. I'll find you two, wait for me!_

Then, everything began to blur, and Yazoo remembered no more.

* * *

A/N: That bit about the bedsheet: I was going to have it as a rope for them to climb down, but that's a bit obvious and clichéd. Using it as a weapon is something random Kadaj would do in a panic as a child, I guess. Action parts are so hard to write… :( 

Next chapter: Loz and Kadaj end up at some place, and what of Yazoo? (Thoughts still pending here)

The review button's just down there...


	5. Blame

A/N: I've just realised I've had no disclaimer put on this fanfic (stupid of me), so I've stuck it on Chapter 1, but you already knew Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were Square Enix property. If they were mine though…heh heh, never mind.

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 5: Blame**

Kadaj hadn't cried for a long time. The eldest brother Loz on the other hand, was a different story. The two brothers curled up against each other, their eyes glued shut with watery tears that glistened in the passing streetlights as the driver of the rusty car drove home. Kadaj had confused the driver (who had uncertainly introduced himself as Chris), demanding for him to stop the car, screaming for his other brother, banging on the windows with such violence, the shorter-haired of the two had to restrain him.

Realisation that their dear brother was going back to the dreaded lab was only just sinking in; Loz had bitten through most of his fingernails in worry, and Kadaj, his rage dissipated from the vehement mood swing before, had resorted to a quiet, sorrowful mood, hugging his knees and opening his wide eyes to stare out of the rain-spattered car window like a lost child. From time to time, he'd call for his niichan and, distressed that there was no answer, would weep in anguish into his waiting arms.

The youngest brother lifted his head up, leaning it in the warm nook of Loz's collarbone. He sniffed. Where he expected an elegant and sharp chin, with a curtain of silver that tickled his face, he felt an angular jaw, with a taut shoulder and sharp collarbone. It was only after Yazoo was gone, that the two – especially Kadaj – realised how much they needed him. Who would wipe Loz's eyes for him, and reassure him when he was scared? Who was going to hold Kadaj's hand when he was frightened, keep him company when he woke up in the dark, helping him to overcome the nightmares that followed him?

Kadaj was so absorbed in his disheartening thoughts, half conscious with eyes threatening to close, that he only vaguely realised the driver had stopped the car. It was still quite dark, but there were several dim lamplights around where they had parked. The back door opened.

"Listen, uh…" Chris, the driver, was looking very awkward, deciding to meet Loz's gaze. "…This is uh, Midgar's Sector 5 Slums…"

"Do you live here!" Kadaj got out the car, looking round at the depressing street. Fragments of glass littered the ground, and no one but them were present.

"…I hate ShinRa with a passion, but I don't want to do anything against them," Chris muttered apologetically. "I can't keep cover for you two if you belong to them…"

"You're leaving us?" Loz exchanged looks with his brother, biting his lip worriedly. "What do we do?"

"You might as well have your money back," said Chris, handing the bag of gil to Loz. His eyes were darting, looking anywhere but at the children. "I'm really sorry that I can't help…" At this point, he looked even more uncomfortable as Kadaj wiped his eyes, looking round helplessly at where they were. He shivered in his pyjamas and trainers as a harsh wind blew through their empty surroundings. Chris stuck his hands in his pockets, giving an air of aloofness and looking as though he wished for nothing more than for Kadaj and Loz to disappear.

"There's a train you could catch, perhaps…ask your way round, most people here are friendly, they'll help you…I've got you this far, and I have my own worries…" His cap shielded his darting eyes. Loz nodded with obedience, but Kadaj was doing the exact opposite, racing after the man who was running to his car hurriedly.

"Come back here, chicken wuss!" the youngest shouted, his voice cracking in rage and an equal amount of fear. "You've done nothing except take me further away from my brother! Come back here! You have to!"

Kadaj knew it was no use though as the car drove off, its swerving a sign of the driver's haste and discomfort. Loz joined Kadaj, watching in silence as the vehicle disappeared into the dark and the sound of the wailing engine faded. The two had never felt more alone, abandoned in a place they knew nothing of, with no Yazoo to take care of them. Loz snivelled a little into the unclean sleeve of his cotton pyjamas before sitting down on the pavement with his bag, hugging it for some sort of reassurance.

"…We'll be okay, Kadaj," the eldest muttered more into the material of his bag, "we can ask for directions, a-and…"

"Niichan's the only one who can take charge properly." Kadaj spat the words out with intentional hurt, sitting several metres away from his brother, looking elsewhere, afraid to turn and see only one brother was accompanying him. Loz kept silent for a few minutes, and occasionally glanced at Kadaj apologetically. He was the eldest, he had to take over for Yazoo's absence, no matter what Kadaj said.

It was unknown to the brothers how long they sat in silence, crying without trying to let the other know, eyes fixed ahead of them, trainers scuffing the road in impatience and unease. A few moments later though, Kadaj glared at him with passionate ferocity that had evolved from the miserable state before. The youngest brother spoke with hurt and green orbs flashed dangerously, accusingly.

"…I hate you, Loz," he stated with meaningful spite. "It's all your fault."

Loz swallowed, fidgeting more with his fingers and attempting to ignore Kadaj. The youngest was now on his feet, standing before him with evident stream of tears leaking from narrowed eyes.

"It's all your fault, Loz!" Kadaj screamed. His fists were balled, eyes screwed shut. "You got in the car before niichan did, s-so niichan got left behind instead of you…!"

Loz's eyes widened, watching as Kadaj cried in front of him, no longer trying to keep it silent. He sobbed with the innocence Yazoo had a soft spot for, rubbing the eyes that Yazoo would look fondly into. Loz looked away, unable to see his younger brother cry anymore.

"You're the oldest," whispered Kadaj, peering through the gaps between his fingers. "You should have been more responsible, if you had been more responsible, niichan would be here with me instead of you…"

The words stung Loz painfully, and stringing together words that made no sense, Loz blinked away tears of bitter realisation. He wasn't a responsible brother, he hadn't protected either of his siblings, what kind of brother did that make him? He rested his forehead on his knees, feeling something running down his nose and drip into his lap. Kadaj's rage hadn't finished, and through the sobs, there was a shout of "You're a stupid brother, Loz, you don't even count as a _brother_ to me…!"

"I'm sorry, Kadaj…" Loz hugged his knees tighter, wishing for something to block out those painful words that hurt even more because they were true.

"I'll never see niichan again, and that'll be entirely your fault!" Kadaj whispered with intended malice, but as he blinked, another brother made his appearance. Long silver strands cascaded round his elegant face and down his back, and green orbs stared at him almost hungrily. For the briefest moment, Kadaj felt something well up in his stomach, flipping pleasantly, as though he was happy…he could see his beloved niichan, his dear Yazoo…!

…Kadaj's eyes snapped open in fear as Sephiroth smiled, the gaze boring into him.

It wasn't Yazoo at all, it was Sephiroth he was seeing in his head…Kadaj screamed, falling onto his knees and weeping. He was lost, so lost without Yazoo…the General was still smiling at him, watching with amusement, seeing the consequences of Kadaj when separated from Yazoo.

"Kadaj! Kadaj, are you okay?" Loz was at his side, his strong, burly arm wrapping round Kadaj's cold frame. The sky was heavy with clouds, a strong reminder of how Yazoo would protect little Kadaj from threatening storms and rain. "Talk to me, Kadaj!"

He rubbed the child's back with guilt-ridden reassurance, noting how light the street was becoming. Day already, where the night before had so many terrorising events, it was surprising it all happened in such a short time. Kadaj was still crying, surrendering to Loz's warm frame and hugging the eldest brother with a grip of comfort and apology.

"…I'm sorry, niisan…" he muttered into Loz's pyjama top. Loz nodded uncertainly.

"…No problem, Kadaj."

Kadaj rested against his brother, giving Loz a few moments to think through their situation with growing anxiety. He wondered how Yazoo could remain so calm about worrying things, finding delight in taking charge…

Loz absently noted that a couple of people had walked past them quickly, telling him that it was the early morning and the day's work was beginning. He quietly grew quite angered at the fact that the nervous driver Chris had told them people would be friendly, but as far as Loz had seen, every businessman had deliberately kept their gaze off the children. The knot of nervousness tightened, but for the sake of Kadaj, Loz maintained his 'brave' face, which Yazoo always said made him look as though he was in pain.

His stomach grumbled, and Kadaj giggled softly. Loz laughed nervously in response, mumbling, "…Are you hungry too, Kadaj?"

"Mmm."

A pair of slippered feet stopped in front of Loz. He looked up to see a middle-aged woman gazing back at him curiously. She had an enviously warm looking coat wrapped round her, and swinging off one arm was a shopping bag. Her cheeks were tinted a slight pink from the cold, and a pair of deep, friendly eyes studied the two children.

"Why would two children be out here so early in the morning and especially when it's so cold?" She bent down and ruffled Kadaj's matted hair affectionately. "You both look so upset, and you'll freeze yourselves."

Kadaj watched with inquisitive orbs as the woman put down her shopping bag. Loz sneakily cast a glance in there, biting his lip at the sight of food.

"…Did someone leave you behind?" she asked. Kadaj nodded in fierce agreement.

"Yes, someone did! The driver was a chicken wuss!"

"Driver?" repeated the woman. "You were abducted? Poor dears!"

"He tried to take our money too – " Here, Kadaj snatched the bag of gil from Loz and shook it for emphasis " – and said that his name was Chris."

The woman blinked. "Your abductor told you his name?" She smiled as Kadaj nodded excessively, and caught sight of Loz casting a longing glance at the shopping bag. "My name is Elmyra by the way, and I don't live far from here. Why don't you come round for tea, and you can tell me all about what happened to you both."

Loz's face brightened at the mention of tea, but Kadaj frowned at the word 'both'.

"I have another brother, you know. He's actually been abducted!"

Elmyra stared in horror, gaping at the brothers and covering her mouth. Loz sniffed, and Kadaj nodded sadly. The two shifted guiltily, knowing that the only reason why Yazoo was going back to the lab was to spare them from it.

"He was my favourite brother as well…" Kadaj joined Loz with the tears, and Elmyra reached into her handbag, taking out a tissue and dabbing at the children's eyes. Kadaj let his eyelids close. Having his face wiped felt nice, and if he kept his eyes shut and blocked out Elmyra's worried talking, he could imagine that it was his niichan Yazoo who was wiping his face clean.

* * *

A/N: Kadaj and Loz are in the safe care of Elmyra now, though I missed writing Yazoo in this chapter. I can't write Elmyra at all… 

Next chapter: A new character! Not time for Aerith/Aeris (whatever you want to call her) just yet, but make way for everyone's favourite creep, Hojo…!


	6. Bars

A/N: Sorry for a late update – I'm in exam period at the moment, horrible maths exams are stopping me from writing! Still, here's the next chapter!

Thanks to those who've taken the time to review, particularly MoonFox531, Daenis, DevineDragon and Capricorn Chaos. It's reviews that make me write, keep them coming please!

Oh, and a new disclaimer: I'm thankful to say that Hojo doesn't belong to me, but to Square Enix.

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 6: Bars**

Yazoo was conscious a long while before he opened his eyes. Part of his small, naïve self believed that if he kept his eyes shut, he wouldn't have to face what lay beyond his eyelids. His body was betraying his thoughts though, unwillingly trembling, and stabbing pains in his left arm. He felt someone's hot breath meet his cheek faintly, and a quiet, calculating voice, muttered, "Out of the three, you had to bring back the weakest…"

Yazoo's eyes fluttered open to see the familiar figure of a skinny man, wispy hair pulled back into a greasy ponytail at his neck, round reflective glasses and somewhat stooped back. Yazoo didn't need to see Professor Hojo's face to know who he was. As the Head of Science at ShinRa, everything and everyone Yazoo knew was under his control, and if there were those who displeased him…Yazoo had heard other scientists speculate about missing colleagues.

Yazoo looked to his left to see a scientist – one whose face he recognised as trying to pick up the three brothers earlier on – inject him with something before writing notes on his clipboard. Judging by his forlorn expression, he supposed the scientist in question had been berated for only bringing back Yazoo. Hojo adjusted his glasses, settling down at a desk and scribbling something down with a pen from his pocket.

"You haven't any idea how much work I have to put in," the Head of Science grumbled more to himself, "these experiments cost a fortune to carry out, and it certainly doesn't help when my specimens are going on silly adventure trips and you money-driven scientists are asking endlessly for pay rises. I'm short on money as it is, there's simply not enough dedicated, genuinely fond of science researchers around to fulfil the scientific discoveries that need to be discovered. And since my most important of all experiments has ran off somewhere," Hojo's eyes flickered to look over at Kadaj's empty bed, "…I don't have much choice but to start a new theory whilst waiting for him to be found."

Yazoo stared up at the ceiling on noticing that Hojo was looking in his direction. He didn't want to look at him, not only because it was uncomfortable, but seeing the Professor again wasn't something that had crossed his mind when he was out of the lab, free with his brothers.

"That's right," Hojo suddenly said rather loudly, evident that he was addressing someone, "I'm talking to you, eh…what was your name…?"

There was a few rustling noises of paper, and the researcher with the injection (now disposing of it absently) said, "This is Yazoo, Professor."

"Oh yes, now I remember…" Hojo adjusted his glasses. "You're the one that my fellow colleagues named as a bit of a joke."

The words stung Yazoo. It was his name, his only true name, and to hear it regarded as someone's idea of a joke…it seemed that he was just an experiment and an item of humour.

Hojo got to his feet, crossing the room with an impressive air of intimidation and haughtiness. Yazoo felt the hot breath again as Hojo bent down.

"This one's a bit weak for someone who's been injected with Mako…a direct clone of Sephiroth himself…" He tapped his chin. "Seems that all…_Yazoo_…has inherited from Sephiroth is his _hair_."

A bony hand flicked at Yazoo's silver tresses carelessly. The eyes behind the round glasses were narrowed slightly, looking disappointed and pensive. "Dear dear…it's your clones that are the precedence here, they hold a lot more promise for the future of science…"

"Kadaj and Loz aren't my clones," Yazoo found himself saying with meek defensiveness, "they're my brothers."

"Eh?"

Hojo peered closely at Yazoo, blankly, looking as though Yazoo had just spoken a different language. "…Your brothers, did you say?"

Yazoo recoiled as Hojo began to chuckle to himself, stroking his chin and waving a scrawny arm to his assistant for attention. "Deanes, put this down, put this down – specimen 2-4-A has developed a sense of intimacy and closeness with experiment B and C…caused by social deprivation perhaps…? A yearning for mutual empathy, comfort…" The researcher named Deanes was writing away frantically, "…Definitely not a characteristic of Sephiroth…Yazoo's become far too soft as well as weak…"

"Shouldn't we assess him and create a programme to strengthen him up to be like Sephiroth?" Deanes looked at his superior meekly, and Yazoo, aware that Hojo's eyes were studying him, squirmed uneasily, but at the sight of Kadaj's pristine, untouched bed, felt encouragement. As Hojo ordered for Deanes to make more notes, pacing the room every now and then whilst tidying away his desk, Yazoo was rolled on his side, curled up, far away in his thoughts about Kadaj and Loz, together, free from the pain Yazoo was about to endure.

_But so long as they are not back here, I'd take on any amount of pain. I'm not as weak as you think._

When the late evening arrived, Hojo and Deanes packed away to leave the lab. Yazoo lay motionless on his bed, listening with gloom as Hojo murmured, "I'll have to make sure that door's properly locked, it's because of careless researchers like you that they escaped in the first place."

Deanes made his exit quickly, no doubt eager to get away from his uncaring boss. As he did, Hojo, holding the door handle lazily, looked across as Yazoo's passive form, the curtain of silk-like hair hanging limply each side of his face.

"The only thing that isn't artificial in this room is me." A smile flashed across Hojo's face, and it was far from comforting. "…It's impossible for you to have a brother when you're not even human."

The door closed, locking Yazoo away once again, in the dark silence.

---

Having finished his regular dinner of nearly-flavourless soup, Yazoo sat by himself on his bed, aware that Hojo had taken off the restraints he usually fixed on. It was possible that Hojo had done so to give Yazoo a droplet of freedom, but in fact, Yazoo knew Hojo had intended for it to hurt. To be released from his restraints at last, only to find there was no one to hug, no one to sit with or play with.

Swinging his legs off the bed, his bare feet touching the cold floor quietly, He walked over to the single window, remembering with fondness how, when it was Professor Gast who was minding them, Loz's strong arms would offer to lift him up so that he could look out of it at Midgar, how Kadaj would hop from foot to foot, waiting impatiently for his turn to peer out, and how Loz would stare out avidly as Gast lifted him, little Kadaj clutching onto the white coat.

Hojo's chair had to do though, in the absence of Loz. Yazoo pulled the chair away from the empty desk, wincing as it screeched, echoing. He climbed onto it, and through the gaps of four, grey metallic bars, stared down at the flickering city of Midgar. Some of the lights were moving, others were still, some flashing, some a lot brighter than the others. Yazoo wondered to himself which one of those bright, still lights was the light that lit up the room Loz and Kadaj were in, safe together, the opportunity for them to see the bond they were meant to have.

Yazoo stared at the window itself. It was dotted with raindrops that rolled down slowly at first, and faster as it began to shower more. He gripped one of the bars and moved his face closer to the window, his breath forming a little white mist on the glass that wasn't blocked by the metal rods. The bars, Yazoo had once told a curious Kadaj as they both lay on their beds with restraints, were put there so that nothing could come in to hurt them. In actuality though, the bars were there for a psychological effect, to remind them of their confinement, and in a way, to stop them from hurting others. Besides, what could hurt them was already _within_ the bars, dressed in white coats and carrying clipboards and samples.

Hojo's last words to him had struck a feeling of growing admittance that the Professor was right in some ways. It was technically impossible for Kadaj, Loz and even Sephiroth to be his brothers. But the overwhelming care and protection he had for the two…if that wasn't something that made brothers brothers, he didn't know what he was feeling.

Yazoo, suddenly feeling childish and losing his aloof, mature attitude, waved out the window, believing firmly that somewhere, either of his brothers had seen him. He didn't feel so alone anymore. He jumped off the chair lightly, moving it back behind the desk and smoothing the padded seat for any trace of a pair of feet standing on it before retreating back to his bed.

For what seemed like hours, he lay silently, unable to sleep yet not from fear of being back in the lab. His arm was stinging from the needles, and he was oddly alert. Sounds that he was accustomed to seemed unusually louder, his eyes were sharper, seeing everything a lot more clearly.

"Just what have I been injected with?" Yazoo said out loud, sitting up. It was only when he blinked, resting his tired eyes for a moment, that he saw something for the first time. Eyes that were identical to his, green and acute, silver hair that surrounded a long, serious face lightly.

Yazoo felt an unusual desire of hate and anger inside of him, rattling in him somewhere, and he swore he could hear the sound of a blade rushing through air. He brought his hands to his face, covering his ears and wishing for it all to go away. He wasn't what Hojo deemed as important or strong enough to equal that of Sephiroth…what was happening to him? He couldn't become an exact copy of Sephiroth, he was Yazoo, not Sephiroth…

And just like that, with the sheer determination and fright in him, the General disappeared, as did the burning feeling of anger.

Yazoo was sat up, hands grasping clumps of his hair, breathless.

Outside, the rain was still pouring.

* * *

A/N: Most of this chapter was just description, though in my defence, it's very hard to write a conversation when there's only one person in the room. Anyways, don't forget to review! 

Next chapter: We see what Kadaj and Loz get up to at Elmyra's house.


	7. Comfort

A/N: First off, a disclaimer to say that all characters in this chapter belong to Square Enix. Thank you to all reviewers for taking the time to write a review, it means a great deal to me !

Secondly, I've had another problem age-wise. I read somewhere that Kadaj and co. are theoretically 2 years old, since they were created after FFVII ended, but on looking at the AC official website, it does say that Yazoo and Loz are in their twenties, Kadaj in his teens…so I'm going to stick by the idea that in order for Yazoo and Loz to be in their twenties, they must have lived for at least twenty years.

Anyways, enjoy this chapter! It centralises mainly on Kadaj this time.

* * *

Ame ni Matte

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 7: Comfort**

Judging by what of Midgar Kadaj had already seen, he hadn't expected for Elmyra's house to be any more cheerful. He was cold and hungry, and it annoyed him to see Loz walking eagerly ahead after Elmyra. Granted, Kadaj was only a few feet behind, but Yazoo had never let him walk somewhere where he couldn't be seen. Kadaj scowled to himself, watching Loz chat animatedly to the woman next to him.

How could his brother be so lively when Yazoo was gone? Wasn't Loz worried for Yazoo's well being, or had the thought of food seized him, entrancing him so strongly that all he could do was think about it?

He shivered in his pyjamas and ignored Elmyra as she said, "We're nearly there, children. Will you be okay carrying that bag, Kadaj?" In response, he only sought to clutch the bag's straps tighter, reminding himself in his head that the bag had Yazoo's belongings, and the middle brother would not be happy if his things were to go missing. Moments later, he looked up ahead and found that Loz and Elmyra had stopped walking, and, unless his eyes were deceiving him, by the small brown house was a splash of fresh green.

"Oh yes, this is one of the few places in Midgar that allows for flowers to grow." Elmyra smiled at Kadaj, but he moved his eyes a little too late to pretend he hadn't seen. He forced back a small smile, looked back to the patch of flowers, and dully noticed someone coming towards them.

"Aerith is my adopted daughter," Elmyra introduced the girl. "Aerith, this is Loz, and the little one here is Kadaj."

The girl was no older than Loz, Kadaj observed, petite and dressed in pink. Long brown hair had been pulled back into a plait, simple in its elegance, and several short ringlets hung by her ears. Her smile was gentle like her mother's, and it seemed vaguely familiar. The girl named Aerith spoke to him softly, kneeling slightly to meet his height.

"Hello Kadaj." Kadaj stared back at her, his bad mood and fright suddenly gone. A pair of kind eyes were looking at him, as green as his, yet with a character of grace and kindness. Those eyes were gazing at him as though they had known him for years.

"…I like your eyes," muttered Kadaj. Loz and Elmyra had just finished their conversation, so although Kadaj had said those words quietly, it was excruciatingly audible. Aerith though, merely beamed.

"Did you hear that Mum? He said he liked my eyes!" She turned back to Kadaj, eyes travelling to now examine the dirt marks on his face, the tousled hair and the filthy pyjamas. Loz was rolling his eyes at the expected attention Kadaj was getting. Aerith was still looking at Kadaj searchingly, though he abruptly realised that he didn't feel uncomfortable or afraid. In the labs there were indeed, people were constantly studying him and hurting him, countless detached gazes hovering over him. He smiled and stared up at Aerith.

She ruffled his hair before taking his hand and walking in step with her mother and Loz to the waiting house.

"So Mum, why are these two here? Are they lost?" Kadaj could hear Aerith talking, her voice lined with mild curiosity, but he was far too tired to be aware of what was around him. He felt somewhat revitalised though when he entered the house, greeted by warmth and the pleasant smell of something cooking.

"I'll need to be cooking for more people," Aerith smiled, only having to take a few steps to the kitchen, taking out a pan and stirring in another. Kadaj huddled himself out of the way, noticing it was rather cramped. He held onto the edge of the dining table, and pulled off his bag, feeling the weight slip off his shoulders. He looked round to see where Elmyra had gone, and found her coming down a set of stairs Kadaj hadn't even seen, clutching a bundle of clothes.

"Aerith, do you have any jumpers that aren't pink that the boys can wear?" she said absently. Loz held up his hands.

"Oh, we have our own clothes, these are our pyjamas, we were wearing them when…" Loz trailed off, and Kadaj, peering through the hole in the back of a chair, assumed that his older brother was feeling rather nervous in telling the truth about why they'd appeared on the streets of Midgar. Aerith seemed to notice the sudden apprehension in both the silver haired boys, and moved away from her cooking.

"There ought to be a white jumper there that might suffice for Kadaj." She smiled over at Loz, who was eyeing Kadaj's bag with a strange look. "You look so worried about something…" Kadaj's gaze left the dark wood of the table, seeing Loz stood near a grand bookcase.

"It's nothing," the oldest brother said. Kadaj tilted his head to the side, unable to tell whether Loz was going to start crying or not. Then, much to Kadaj's surprise, Loz added confidently, "We're both just a bit tired I guess. I'm sure Kadaj appreciates as much as I do for your care."

Kadaj blinked. Where he had expected for Loz to start snivelling into his pyjama sleeve, blubbering about how lost they were and how clueless he was on what to do, the oldest of the three seemed very much in charge and unafraid. Kadaj moved away from the chair, looking down at the carpeted floor. He knew Loz was worried about Yazoo, and after the cruel words shouted at him, he probably thought that everything was his fault too. Still, to see him fill in the shoes of Yazoo not only made Kadaj miss the middle brother more, but somewhere deep inside of him, he felt a growing respect for the brother he had deemed a crybaby and a coward.

Kadaj yawned widely, and Aerith caught sight of him, hidden away with just his head above the table. Loz scratched the back of his head, and said to Elmyra, "You er…got a place my younger brother can sleep?"

"The living room's warmest," Elmyra replied. "Why don't you help with the cooking so lunch is ready quicker, and we can talk about what happened to you and Kadaj."

"Follow me Kadaj, you ought to sleep." Taking a bundle of white from the pile of clothes Elmyra had brought down, Aerith opened a dark door to reveal another small room, where two armchairs and a sofa arced round a red rug. The cushions were plumped up, sitting either side of the sofa. With eagerness, Kadaj chose the sofa straight away, hugging the cushion that was bigger than him. Aerith sat down next to him, and with a slightly anxious tone that Kadaj hadn't heard, she murmured, "…My mum told me you have another brother."

"…That's Yazoo," Kadaj muttered through a yawn, laying down and feeling Aerith cover him with the sweater. Wrapped up in the warmness, eyes closing automatically and his nose breathing in the pleasant smell of the jumper, Kadaj mumbled, "He's in a really horrible place at the moment…" He paused, running his tongue over his lips. "…Loz'll explain it all, I think."

Aerith's gaze softened, one slender hand reaching out to rest on Kadaj's shoulder. He was remarkably at ease since being separated from Yazoo, on being taken back to such a welcoming place with such friendly people. A feeling of shyness abruptly burst inside of him as he thought about Aerith – was the comforting reassurance he felt around her the feelings he'd get when he'd see his mother? The gentle voice, honest eyes and soothing touch? For the briefest of moments, Kadaj flinched from a sharp pain of guilt at the thought of himself in such a love-filled place, whilst Yazoo was at the exact opposite. What was he to do though? Already, he had taken to Aerith, the cosiness of her home…surely Loz was thinking the same thing.

Kadaj felt Aerith get off the sofa, making her way quietly to the door.

"You must be very tired. I'll get Loz to wake you up once you've had a good rest, and then you can have lunch." The room darkened slightly as the door closed. "Sweet dreams."

Kadaj shut his eyes. Once again, like countless occasions from before, green eyes materialised in the dark, watching Kadaj through his silver tresses. But Kadaj was too tired to be afraid, too exhausted to scream.

"Go away you," he muttered, "…Let me sleep."

-----------

When Kadaj was woken up, being roughly shaken by Loz, his head felt a lot clearer and his whole body didn't ache as much. The room was between bright and dark, where through a small gap in some curtains, stray rays of sunlight filtered in through the rain dotted window. He noticed he now sported a small blanket as well as the jumper, but before he could pause and admire the swirly patterns of the blanket, a shadow loomed over him. He found his brother frowning over him impatiently, and yellowish stains that hadn't been on his pyjamas previously could only suggest that that was the lunch he had been eating whilst Kadaj was asleep.

"Look at you," Loz grumbled, slumping into an armchair with a quiet grunt and curling his feet up so that they weren't touching the floor. "A big sofa and you manage to hog all the space."

Kadaj attempted to tame his messy hair, but after his hair protested, sticking up at odd angles and impairing his vision more than usual, he gave up and asked, "Did you eat all the food?"

"Still some left for you, brat. You ought to be grateful." Loz jabbed his chest happily. "I ate two bowlfuls of that soup. Tasted a bit weird, but I was so starved, I didn't care."

"Why you going round telling me to be grateful when you don't do it yourself." Kadaj leaned against a cushion, rubbing his eyes. "Niichan would've told you off for that."

At the mention of Yazoo, Loz stopped looking prideful, and his grin dropped into a serious frown. His feet swung off the armchair, and he leaned forwards. "That…reminds me about something, Kadaj."

"What." The youngest was rather preoccupied with playing with a yellow tassel on the end of the cushion, shaking it so that the threads jiggled, pressing it against his head to see if blonde hair would suit him. The threads tickled his cheeks, and he giggled to himself amusedly, listening to Loz but attempting to act like he didn't care.

"Kadaj, stop doing that and listen to me. Y-you know we can't stay here, right?" He wiped under his nose, sniffing a little. "It's not fair on Elmyra, and we've got other things to do."

"…I know that. Stop talking dumb." Kadaj sat up straighter, peering over his cushion to find Loz was staring at him. He had the impression his brother was getting impatient with him. "I don't know why you're worrying about it niisan, we have to find Yazoo, right? We'll find him, and then come back here!"

Loz rolled his eyes. "We'll be finding Mother once we've got Yazoo, remember? Sure, Aerith's you know, motherly enough to you already – I know that's what you think of her, but you can't choose a substitute as an easy way out…don't you want our real mother?"

Kadaj scowled, knowing Loz was right. Loz usually was right, in a pessimistic sense. The crybaby and worrywart of the three was ever nervous and anxious, but could still understand and read through Kadaj as easily as Yazoo could. Kadaj just preferred Yazoo's coolness and level-headedness, and would openly admit when the middle brother was right.

"I thought you would probably be the one who wouldn't want to leave," Kadaj found himself talking defensively, something that came naturally to him when his brothers were onto what he was thinking. "You've been stuck on that Elmyra all the time." He grinned impishly. "I always knew you had the hots for older women."

Loz turned a deep shade of red, spluttering in defence, "Actually, s-she thinks a lot like Yazoo, that's all, that's why I talk to her. She's, you know, all calm and sensible like Yazoo is."

Kadaj drew his feet in, glowering angrily at the mention of Yazoo. Now that his head was clear, he realised that Yazoo had gone, only to make him and Loz run back after him again. He wondered if Loz would have preferred to have gone back to the lab just to be with Yazoo, rather than be outside and free without him.

And when Kadaj asked the question to himself,he found that he was unsure.

-----------

A/N: Hope that chapter was okay – I did it in a bit of a rush So Loz is a bit more grown up now, and Kadaj is just…Kadaj, I guess. I don't have a clue for what I'm doing for the next chapter (not keen for more Hojo – who is?), so suggestions are more than welcome. Please review!


	8. Recollection

A/N:.:Cries:. Sorry, people, a Yazoo chapter inevitably means Hojo…don't run away just yet, please read and review! Thank you reviewers who reviewed the last chapter! 

Reading note: Half of this chapter is a memory, in case you can't tell – I put it all into italics first, but changed my mind. I don't know about you, but reading chunks of text in italics begins to hurt my eyes.

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain**

**Chapter 8: Recollection**

Hojo had slammed something heavy on the lab desk, and Yazoo jumped awake, startled. It was unconventional to hear anything so loud, and the emptiness of the room only amplified the sound. It hurt his ears, and sitting up groggily, feeling stiff and unwelcomingly cold, the clone forced his eyes to focus.

What met his gaze was far from pleasant. The head of research, Hojo, was pacing the length of the lab with a clipboard in hand, muttering to himself whilst the panicky researcher named Deanes rummaged in a leather bag with such fretfulness, Yazoo's thoughts lingered on the not-so-entertaining muses of what Deanes was feeling so threatened by.

"--waking up extra early just to sort out _Yazoo _--" Hojo spat the name out as though it was particularly detestable "--only to find out my colleagues don't have the same enthusiasm I have…I ought to run a sweep of the research staff, deal with those who are unworthy…"

Hojo paused in his usual rant, suddenly noticing a pair of green orbs watching him. He pushed his glasses up irritably, and broke into a smile that didn't convey any sort of amiability.

"Yazoo, Yazoo, Yazoo," he said absently, "forgive me for not noticing you were awake. But good job you are, we have a lot to get through."

Yazoo studied his pyjama trousers, seeing Deanes' shadow creep over him. The researcher almost looked apologetic as he injected Yazoo's arm. The syringe contained a swirling mix of bright green; watching it made him rather faint.

"Side effect – dizziness," said Hojo lazily, as everything around Yazoo began to spin. "No problem though, should wear off in a few moments though. What I am more interested in…Deanes, make a note of this…Yazoo looks a bit…sharper."

"Eh?" Deanes looked up from his clipboard blankly, but Hojo ignored him, marching over to his desk and looking over at a large blue folder.

"The second Mako boost…" Hojo mused, turning a page of his file "…not planned at all, but of the three…mmm, a stroke of misfortune, indeed…the weak one, the weak one…I doubt even two shots will have an effect…"

"…I saw Sephiroth, if that counts as anything," Yazoo muttered. Despite the squirms inside of him warning him that admitting this only meant more injections and pain, but his anger was rising to the surface, being named relentlessly as weak, showered with remarks of disappointment and dismay.

Hojo stared at Yazoo in the same way a father would on hearing his baby say his first word.

"…Excellent!" he breathed, waving wildly for Deanes' attention. "Get it down, get it down!"

"Yes Professor."

Hojo scurried round the desk to Yazoo eagerly, moving surprisingly quickly for someone who looked so frail. "You said you saw Sephiroth. Elaborate, elaborate, little boy. Did he tell you anything? What did you feel?"

Yazoo was growing increasingly nervous at the Professor's abrupt interest in him. But his nervousness was soon quelled by a sudden pang of fear as Hojo stretched a hand out towards Yazoo and took hold of the elegant chin, jerking the clone's head so that it met the Professor's gaze. Yazoo winced at the bony hand's grip, gazing into the deep black eyes inches away from him. Then, Hojo pushed him away, unfolded a metallic chair and tossed it so that it skidded across the floor, opposite his desk. He gestured to it, and slumped into his snug armchair. Yazoo slid himself off the bed and sat on the waiting seat with unwilling obedience, tugging at the dirty grey left sleeve.

"I…I…" Yazoo started lamely, and Deanes scribbled something on his clipboard. Yazoo had the feeling that the researcher was going to make a note of everything he said, including the stutters and stumbles.

"Ignore him," Hojo said carelessly, "think Sephiroth. It might just be that my research does have a future in you."

"I only saw him for a few seconds." Yazoo felt weary and tired despite the fact he had only just woken up. "He was just…there."

"And feelings? Any sudden changes of emotion? Resembling that of Sephiroth, even?" Hojo was flicking through his pages so intensely, they were in danger of flying out from the folder. "2-4-C told us…2-4-C, we named him…eh…Ka…daj…Kadaj."

At the mention of his younger brother's name, an overwhelming feeling of nausea overcame him, and he wished for nothing more than to see that mischievous grin again. Such a short space of time away from each other, and already, the name Kadaj was starting to sound foreign.

"Kadaj said once that when he saw Sephiroth, he felt inexplicably angry." Hojo wrenched Yazoo out from his nostalgic thoughts. Yazoo hid a smile, thinking pensively that even without Sephiroth's help, Kadaj could get 'inexplicably angry'.

"…I get that too," Yazoo answered vaguely, but by the looks of it, it suited Hojo. The Professor moved his gaze away from Yazoo for a brief moment to check Deanes was still note-taking, before resuming their position on the clone sat on the uncomfortable chair in front of him.

"Deanes, if it carries on like this, we might be able to make Yazoo even stronger than Kadaj." Hojo smiled to himself smugly, entertained by this thought. Deanes muttered something which sounded like a half hearted agreement, but once again, Hojo was too preoccupied to even look at his assistant. "I've just had a brainwave. Deanes, get three more assistants to aid now. Don't get Leeson though, whatever you do. That man has the same intelligence as some creature I'd find at the bottom of my fish tank."

"Yes Professor," Deanes said hurriedly, leaving the room. Hojo brought Yazoo to a stand up position by the elbows, nudging him towards the bed again.

"You ought to be thankful for the amount of attention you're getting," Hojo was muttering away again, assuming that Yazoo was listening. "Compared to your 'brothers' anyway. You'll become a fine masterpiece at this rate. Just a little bit of training and…" there was a significant, eerie pause "…a few more boosts."

Yazoo swallowed, allowing for himself to be strapped onto his bed. He forced himself to stop trembling, reciting in his head that Kadaj was safe, Loz was okay, he'd see them soon…Shadows loomed over him abruptly, and people were starting to mutter as Hojo began to talk proudly. Yazoo wasn't registering anything at all though, the room was swirling to a whirr of white, blurring before his eyes.

_Kadaj is safe, Loz is okay, I'll see them soon…Kadaj is safe, Loz is…_

A sudden shock of pain rushed through him, and his little mantra was cut rudely, disappearing. Yazoo felt as though his lungs were ripping apart as he screamed. Then, he was pulled into the whiteness of everything, into his unconsciousness, where sweet memories, his only comfort, awaited him.

--------

It was raining heavily as the sky began to darken, but under the makeshift roof of a dull green tent, Yazoo could sit in the warmth of the blankets, peering out of a small gap where the entry flap's zip was broken. It was a murky sort of blue outside, a small sign that evening was drawing near. Of course, Loz was hungry, and once he had eaten, had fallen into a deep slumber, sprawled on the left hand side of the tent and snoring.

Yazoo, this night, had chosen to sleep in the middle. It meant that he could stop his brothers from kicking each other, and could watch over the two until he actually felt tired. It soothed the middle brother to see Loz and Kadaj so well and comfortable, though at times, both brothers complained about Yazoo's aloof gaze simply watching them.

Yazoo smiled to himself as Loz's foot twitched – a small hole in the tent had allowed for a drop of rain to seep through. The oldest brother grunted, rolling over to his other side and taking half the blankets with him. Yazoo rolled his eyes, pulled them back gently but with evident firmness, careful not to wake his brother. What happened instead though, was the other brother waking.

Kadaj sat bolt upright, gasping loudly. Yazoo was already looking at him, his eyes searching.

"…You been doing that freaky watching thing again?" the youngest brother muttered. "You look like you're trying to put a curse on me."

Yazoo blinked. "…Why would I want to put a curse on you?"

"I said you look like it." Kadaj had become irritable, but it was soon replaced by an expression of mild relief. "…I'm glad you're awake anyway."

"…Bad dream?" Yazoo spoke as softly as he always did, sympathetic to Kadaj's small nod of response. The middle brother raked his long fringe back so that he could see more clearly. The silver tresses merely slid back over his eyes, and Kadaj did a poor job in stifling a snigger.

"You've got a bit of your hair sticking up niichan."

"Have I?" Yazoo was still in thought about Kadaj waking so suddenly, his face displaying nothing but fear. Yet, as Yazoo knew all too well, Kadaj could switch from mood to mood as expertly as Loz could eat a full course meal.

Kadaj reached over and ran a hand through Yazoo's longish hair, muttering, "That's better. You were looking a bit stupid, even in the dark."

His own comment seemed to have an effect on him, and Kadaj looked around with a faint hint of anxiety, as though he had suddenly just realised it was very dark. Yazoo felt Kadaj lean against him slightly, almost lazily.

"…Wish I could get to sleep like you and Loz can…" he grumbled moodily into Yazoo's arm, "but you know, I keep seeing him in my head."

Yazoo patted his shoulder comfortingly. Kadaj had complained about Sephiroth many times, and telling him not to be afraid, patting him and stroking his hair seemed to have become protocol. Nevertheless, seeing the brother they had never met face to face before, disrupting sweet dreams and striking unnecessary fear into him…it was no wonder why Kadaj complained.

Kadaj then muttered something Yazoo had not been expecting. "…Being a clone sucks."

The middle brother was momentarily stunned, but regained his composure and murmured his usual response of, "It's okay, Kadaj, you don't need to be afraid of him" but already, the youngest one had pulled away.

"You wouldn't know." Kadaj wasn't mocking or annoyed, Yazoo swore he could have even been remotely upset, actually passively upset. "You don't see him, do you?"

Yazoo opened his mouth to say something, but instead, shook his head grimly. "…No, I don't."

Loz broke what would have been silence – since both Kadaj and Yazoo found nothing to say – with a loud grunt, and muttered something in his sleep. Kadaj shrugged lightly before laying back down in his blankets. His hand took a hold of Yazoo's firmly, possessively.

"…I'm going to go back to sleep now," he mumbled. "You can carry on with that freaky curse look of yours, you know, those evil looks you practise."

Yazoo found himself chuckling a little, bringing the blankets higher to Kadaj's chin. "…Once again, I really don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

A/N: What do you think? Please review… 

This chapter was a bit similar to the first chapter – it was meant to be, plus I didn't want a whole chapter of mad experiments either, not on Yazoo…!

_Next Chapter:_ Loz and Kadaj leave Aerith's home. I think I'll make them have a little dispute as well or something, make it all the more interesting.


	9. Fear

A/N: Woo! 50 reviews! Thank you so much everyone! This next chapter skips ahead a bit in time, because writing Aerith's boring (actually, I just don't feel comfortable writing her). Don't forget to review!

* * *

**Ame ni Matte **

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 9: Fear**

It was only three nights that Kadaj and Loz stayed at Aerith's. The brothers unwillingly left the home, but yet, with the intention of finding the third brother stronger than ever. Elmyra had insisted on packing the boys' bags with food and clean blankets, and had even washed their clothes. With Loz carrying the bags, the weight of them was no problem. Kadaj struggled to keep in pace with the eldest brother, splashing through puddles as the pair headed down a grim, murky street.

Kadaj and Loz both knew that their hopes of finding Yazoo were limited. Whilst at Elmyra's, Loz had come up with the believable alibi that he and Kadaj were orphans who had escaped from an austere orphanage, only to have lost Yazoo on the way. Elmyra had so sincerely believed that story and was convinced the brothers were to return to the non-existent orphanage, and with that belief firm in mind, it was impossible to ask about the research labs.

In retrospect though, asking Elmyra about the labs regardless of conflicting their alibi had been the logical thing to do, for now, the brothers stood alone in an alleyway, having seen barely anyone all day, tired and their clean clothes sopping wet from a sudden downpour. Loz knew the labs were nearby – he recognised the layout of the city from looking out the barred lab window many times. Yet, in a city that seemed to grow larger by the minute, lost in an area that had no people, and spurred on by a dying hope of finding him, the two were no closer to finding the middle brother either. A whole day wasted, where all they had accomplished was an excessive amount of unnecessary exercise.

"…We're going round in circles, aren't we?" Kadaj muttered bluntly. "I swear I've seen that rubbish skip before."

Loz turned round to find that the youngest brother had succumbed to his exhaustion, sliding his back down against the skip and raking wet hair with a hand. With a shrug, Loz settled down the bags and sat by Kadaj, resting his chin on a hand.

"Pass us the bag, I'm starved."

Loz did so without a word, realising a few moments later that he actually wasn't hungry for once. As Kadaj scoffed on a stale roll ravenously, Loz pulled out the sleeping bag, settling it on the muddy ground beside the skip. He picked up an empty can that was rolling along aimlessly, and tossed it from hand to hand before throwing it up in the air behind him into the skip. He noticed that Kadaj had stopped eating.

"Something wrong, Kadaj?"

"…Are we sleeping here?" Kadaj wrinkled his nose, and eyed his companion expectantly.

"Well, yeah." Loz tried to hide his mutual disgust when he saw the sleeping bag gather a pool of rainwater. "…We've gone round in circles, and I have been looking for somewhere to us to stay, you know, an inn or something, but no luck."

Kadaj was still frowning at him moodily, so Loz added, "It's not like we have any choice brat. We're tired, and we need to use our money carefully."

The two were silent for a few moments, watching drops of rain leave stains on their clothes and roll across the sleeping bag into a growing pool. Then, Kadaj spoke candidly, eyes narrowing so that they were almost slits.

"…Yazoo would've found a place to stay. He wouldn't've just given up."

Loz looked away, affronted by the comparison that intended to hurt. He was sure Kadaj was still looking at him, so hesitantly, gently, as though speaking too loud was forbidden. "…I know he would've."

Kadaj rolled his eyes, crossing skinny arms across his chest and glaring at the sleeping bag. "Course he would've," he muttered. Loz cast him an irritable look.

"Going on about him doesn't help," he snapped back. "Yazoo isn't here, in case you haven't noticed."

Kadaj leapt onto his feet, as though he had just been pricked by something. Loz leaned against the skip, sighing loudly and blinking away tears that threatened to fall. _He_ was the older one here, he was _not_ going to cry…

"I know Yazoo's not here. He's nowhere!" Kadaj's voice had become quite high, and where Loz was expecting a moody tantrum, to his surprise, the youngest flopped down next to him, ignoring the wetness of the bag. He sighed audibly.

"…s'not your fault," Kadaj mumbled into his arm. "We'll find him."

Loz looked over to where Kadaj had tossed his bread roll aside, soaking up the rainwater like a sponge. A question he feared the answer to had lingered in his mind over the last few days sprung in his mind again, and despite being anxious about the answer, something compelled to ask anyway.

"…Hey, Kadaj."

The green orbs moved slightly, the only indication that Kadaj had heard.

"…Do you think that…when we find Yazoo again, he might be…" Loz swallowed. "…Different."

"What's that supposed to mean." Kadaj gave him a careless look. But beneath the mask of aloofness and disregard, Loz could sense some fear in Kadaj's voice. The older brother shrugged lightly, hugging his backpack and resting his head on it. He and Kadaj were both shivering from the cold rain, staring ahead of them down the dark alley.

"Well," Loz started lamely, "it's been about a week, there's a chance Yazoo had some, I don't know, changes done on him…at the labs…"

"Don't talk to me about that place." The spite was clear in his voice, and eyes flashed dangerously. Loz nodded obediently, all too aware that he himself scarcely needed reminding of the labs either.

"You're just being stupid," said Kadaj firmly. "Yazoo wouldn't change in a week. How would he be different anyway, blockhead, you think he'll cut his hair or something? Impossible."

Loz blinked, more lost in the worrying thought that Yazoo could turn into Sephiroth than Yazoo with short hair, when out the corner of his eye, he saw Kadaj grinning at him.

"Yazoo would look weird with short hair, wouldn't he, Loz?" Kadaj sniggered a little. "He'd look like you."

Kadaj laughed a little more to himself, but Loz – who knew that Kadaj's false good moods were a cover up of a nervousness he didn't want to admit – shook his head.

"…Stupid of me to ask, really," he said clearly. "It's only been a week. Just a week. Yazoo's Yazoo."

Kadaj nodded in agreement. Then, without warning, he edged nearer to Loz and kissed his cheek, reaching his hand out so that it wrapped round Loz's burly arm. It was then that Loz realised despite the unfortunate circumstances he and his brothers had gone through, he was lucky not to have been split from _both_ of them. Even it was the selfish, temperamental Kadaj who he struggled to get on with over the rational, cool Yazoo, one brother was better than none. Loz shuddered at the thought of himself being alone in the depths of this dark city, and instinctively, put an arm round his younger brother and held him close.

The rain seemed to be subsiding, and Loz hoped that it would end soon, or else they'd have to sleep whilst risking drowning. Kadaj seemed to be thinking along the same lines, muttering incoherently to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck where rain trickled off silver strands down his back.

As Loz's eyes began to close, and Kadaj shifted beside him, there was a sudden, unwelcoming sound of something metallic being kicked. There was a click, and a long beam of light swayed slightly, scanning the alley before resting on the two brothers huddled together.

"See. I thought I heard something. Bunch of kids. Sweet, eh? Smoking crack and waiting to be killed." A sharp male voice bit through the air, and impulsively, Loz began to panic. Two figures – tall athletic adult ones – approached them. One was swinging the flashlight round carelessly, and the other seemed to be using his hands to unwrap a bit of gum. As they headed nearer, Loz noticed both were wearing matching blue suits. He also realised that the one chewing gum was in fact, a woman. She was lacking the friendly air that Aerith, Elmyra had and (he assumed) his mother would have, and dark hair that was cut as an angular bob only made her fiercer looking.

"They're only kids, leave them alone," she sighed. "We haven't even reached work yet, and already you're picking on people."

Loz chewed his lip hesitantly, aware that the man had taken three long steps towards him, the flashlight now illuminating Kadaj's sleepy face.

"Heck, this kid's only about seven or something!" he exclaimed. "D'you think they're homeless?"

"That doesn't exactly make them unique. I told you to leave them alone, look at the big one, he's crying."

Loz gulped, raging inside since the flashlight was now on him. Kadaj, who had remained quite unmoving, gripped Loz's arm tighter.

"…All right," the man sighed. "You're proper moody tonight."

"Boss'll be even worse when he finds out you're late because you got side tracked into ogling at kids," came the sharp response.

"You know…" The man bent down, shining the light in Kadaj's face and studying him close. "…How often is it that you see a kid with bright green eyes, Lorna? Kinda weird, don't you think?"

Kadaj pouted moodily at being labelled weird, but Loz was more interested in what the woman named Lorna was doing. With one hand pressing the keys of a cell phone expertly, she held it up against her ear. "Boss? It's Lorna. Could you send a message out to Professor Hojo? I think I've just found a couple of his research projects on the street."

In an instant, Kadaj and Loz had jumped to their feet, making for the two adults. Kadaj grabbed the cell phone, throwing it into the ground where it landed in a puddle. Loz used his strength to his advantage, landing a heavy blow in the man's stomach before grabbing the bags and Kadaj's wrist.

"Run, Kadaj," he gasped, breaking into a sprint down the alley. Kadaj was snarling almost in a wolf-like manner, and despite the sound of it as well as the pouring rain, Loz could hear a set of feet pursuing him.

"You telling me to leave them alone, Lorna!" the man shouted. "Look who's chasing them now! Come back here, Lorn, let's get this sorted at the base with boss – we're not even sure if they are Hojo's!"

The man's voice was becoming fainter, and Lorna's footsteps could no longer be heard. After a few minutes of running, dashing through narrow streets, Loz pulled Kadaj into a small gap between two metallic cans, panting. The younger brother was gasping loudly, fury evident in every pant.

"…Still might come after us," Loz breathed, "Still might try and get us…"

He wiped the mixture of rain and sweat from under his nose, placing a hand on Kadaj's head for his reassurance that his brother was there.

"The labs," Kadaj said shakily, trembling against Loz. "Niisan, if the labs are near here, then…"

Loz wasn't entirely sure how Kadaj was going to finish his sentence, either with the agonising thought that they stood more chance of going back there, to the dreaded labs…or the warm, dawning realisation that somewhere very close, Yazoo was waiting for them.

* * *

A/N: Yay, getting quite dynamic now – Kadaj and Loz interaction's pretty difficult, but I don't mind writing it now (I didn't really like it before). I hope it was okay. Just as a quick note, those two people were Turks

Please be kind and write a review (also known as author food), I'd really appreciate it

Next chapter: Heh heh, it's Yazoo's turn for action!


	10. Blood

A/N: A bit of a late update here, sorry (I'm writing a second fanfic too)…but hey, all the drama starts here! I enjoyed writing this chapter – hopefully it'll give you an insight into a change in Yazoo's personality. The rating has gone up by the way – it gets a bit violent so I changed it to be on the safe side.

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 10: Blood**

Once again, the morning greeted Yazoo with blinding whiteness and the unwelcoming sound of loose papers being turned. He brought a hand to his face, chewing a knuckle as a piercing, callous voice that belonged to Hojo said, "Awake at last, are you? I was beginning to think I had mistaken you for one of my rodent specimens you know, but the tests have proven otherwise."

Yazoo sat up, suddenly apprehensive, and the nervous, twitching face of Deanes met his eyes. The young researcher was clutching his clipboard as usual, wordlessly injecting Yazoo once again before moving away. Hojo, who had been watching Deanes, got out from his seat to join the two.

"Any questions, Deanes?" the head scientist asked. Yazoo watched as Deanes shook his head, and beckoned for him to follow. Yazoo blinked. The lab door had been opened by Hojo, who was gesturing to it with a lazy hand. Was he actually allowed to leave…?

"…You're undergoing a different schedule today," Hojo explained. Yazoo edged nearer to the door, and waited for the moment for it to swing shut teasingly, but no such moment prevailed. Yazoo passed through the door quickly, and was joined shortly by Deanes and Hojo. What met the clone's eyes was hardly comforting. The corridor was just as white as the lab he had just come out of, and it was virtually empty, save for the occasional employee rushing down the corridor.

"Follow Deanes, he'll be in charge of you today." Hojo leaned down and gave Yazoo what he thought was a reassuring pat on the head. It wasn't reassuring at all. Yazoo winced, restraining his urge to wriggle away from the cold hand and wipe down his head for invisible germs. "Off you go now."

Yazoo knew better than to question the Head of Science, so he followed Deanes down a set of spiralling stairs, and realising that they were out of Hojo's sight, asked interestedly, "Do you enjoy your job?"

"Wh-what?" Deanes was caught off guard momentarily. He gave the clone a wary look before answering tonelessly, "…It pays me well, and I en-enjoy some of the work, so…"

"You enjoy it?" Yazoo's green eyes flashed, but sadly, Deanes had his back turned and was unaware he had touched a nerve. What separated Yazoo from both his brothers though was that his anger could disappear within moments of surfacing, burying itself back under coolness and detachment. And so as soon as Yazoo felt the anger bubbling somewhere inside of him at the thought of Deanes actually enjoying his job, he had long forgotten about it as he reached a large hall that had been tiled a dull grey. Deanes held open one of the large doors.

"After you, Yazoo."

The room was completely empty save for a small table, a metallic cabinet and various coloured circles on the wall at the far end. Yazoo was too absorbed in contemplating innocent ideas about what the circles were used for, that he barely noticed Deanes rummaging through the metallic cabinet and pulling out items. They were put down on the table with loud clangs that echoed round the whole room; Yazoo wasn't exactly comfortable either when he noticed that he and the nervous researcher were the only people in the room.

"I'm not exactly happy about doing this either," Deanes said, evidently noticing Yazoo's sullen face, "but it's on Hojo's schedule for you, so…"

"I thought you said you enjoyed your job." Yazoo rolled his eyes, and with an interest he genuinely had (which never seemed to show on his face), he stood on tiptoe and studied the table, seeing four guns. Deanes stopped looking awkward, and studied his clipboard.

"Your accuracy and reaction time should have increased over these past few days, far better than that of an average being. We'll be testing your ability to…"

Yazoo was only half listening, since he had rather been put off by the fact that he was not the average being. He looked down at his hand. He certainly had normal qualities, but even if he did, it didn't matter – he was merely a shadow of Sephiroth. And even if being normal meant being weak, he'd rather be that than a copy of someone with inhuman strengths.

Deanes tapped his shoulder, and passed him a small gun. "See those circles? Try shooting one of them."

It wasn't difficult at all, and hence, Yazoo found himself dozing off as Deanes set him more tasks, including aiming for the centre of the circle and shooting with different types of guns. They kept that this for several hours, during which Deanes would occasionally mutter things like, "Good work" or "Nearly there". But Yazoo didn't care if his work was good or nearly there. Both he and Deanes were doing as they were told to suit the needs of the Head of Science…was Deanes just as helpless as Yazoo was?

_No, because he enjoys his work._

Yazoo gripped the gun he was holding tightly, firing at a blue circle and wincing at the deafening noise emitted. The weapon felt heavy and strange in his small hands, but it gave him a sense of foreboding power to have it, like he had found something that wasn't meant to be found. He turned the barrel of the gun towards his face, and peered into the blackness.

"Be careful with what you do with that, we don't want no accidents." Yazoo blinked at the sound of a voice that wasn't Deanes', and turning round, stared up to find a man and woman, both dressed in blue suits, looking down at him.

"You need to stop with the double negatives," the woman addressed her partner uninterestedly, "it's difficult to understand you." She unwrapped some fresh chewing gum, popping it in her mouth and chewing it for a few moments before fixing her sharp gaze on Deanes. "This is the brat Hojo was talking about, eh? Yazoo or something?"

"He's the one." Deanes gestured to Yazoo, who suddenly felt awkward when three pairs of eyes studied him. "Yazoo, Lorna and Marshal here are Turks assigned to watch over you."

"You know, Lorna," the Turk named Marshal said, scratching his head, "he looks a bit like those two silver haired brats from yesterday."

The gun clattered onto the floor immediately, its butt hitting Yazoo's foot, but the pain and the sound of the adults' voices seemed very far away all of a sudden. He felt a bubble of euphoria – a sensation he hadn't felt for a long time – and opened his mouth to question the newly-assigned Turks further.

"Before you say anything," Lorna interrupted, "let me just remind you that Hojo has no intention of letting you leave this place."

Her words stung Yazoo, though not as much as her heartless gaze that seemed to think its mission was to intimidate him as much as possible. Deanes was chewing his pen lid, and Marshal was scowling at the no smoking sign. Lorna was still staring at him. Yazoo shifted from foot to foot as Deanes muttered, "Shall we carry on then, Yazoo? We still need to see how well you do with long range targets, and…"

The gun. Of course. Yazoo bent down, picking up the weapon. It was too good to be true that he was armed, Deanes wasn't, and the security was very low. Perhaps Hojo had planned for it all, but if it was a way to get to his brothers, Yazoo would take it. He turned the gun so that it pointed to Deanes, and immediately, the researcher whimpered, throwing his clipboard and pen to the pristine floor and holding up his arms. The Turks' hands had simultaneously reached for their EMRs, but it was clear they were fighting a losing battle. There was no way they could reach the child before he pulled the trigger.

"Okay, take it easy kid," said Marshal, "we don't want no accidents."

"Put the gun down," Lorna instructed firmly. Yazoo could sense the slight apprehension in her voice though. Being shot obviously hurt a lot, judging by the way the three were suddenly panicking, and he absently wondered whether it was as painful as what he and his brothers went through. He turned the gun towards Marshal, who wasn't flinching and sweating like Deanes, but holding out his rod.

"Where are my brothers?" Yazoo was meant to ask politely, the gentle tone he usually adopted when speaking, but it came out calmly, enunciating each word with a dark threat that he never knew he could do. He was feeling rage more passionately than he had ever felt, almost as though someone was being enraged for him…

"The last time we saw them, they were hanging out by some skip and, "Marshal stammered hurriedly," one of them was crying as well...we were only doing our job, taking them back to where they belonged…"

Loz was crying. Yazoo's stomach squirmed, and the urge to find his brothers intensified. "Can you blame him for crying? You tried to bring them back here…do you know how much it hurts?"

Deanes's eyes were looking round frantically, anywhere but Yazoo's livid gaze. Yazoo ran a tongue over his dry lips, glaring furiously at the trembling researcher. Possibly the best place to shoot him was the heart, where Yazoo felt the most hurt and pain. The researcher deserved the equivalent of Yazoo's mako doses, the three brothers' excruciating experiments, the anguish of being separated…

A strong pair of hands abruptly caught his shoulders midway of Yazoo's thoughts, and in panic, he pulled the trigger. There was a deafening bang, someone yelled, and the sound of something falling to the floor rang all around. He could hear Marshal shouting behind him, and an electrical fizz could only mean that someone had switched on their EMR. Yazoo elbowed Marshal – who was the one gripping him – and swung the gun round aimlessly where coincidentally, was now aimed at Lorna and the flickering EMR in her hand. Deanes was sprawled on the floor, his clipboard stained red. A shaking hand was grabbing onto his upper arm, where the smart white lab coat was now dyed a deep red, the blood dripping onto the floor. Yazoo swallowed when he saw Deanes' face scrunched up in agony, and his breathing became ragged.

"If you try to stop me from reaching them," Yazoo panted, "you'll end up like him."

Yazoo kept the gun steady, edging towards the door with Lorna and Marshal staring after him. Then, he turned and fled, down a long corridor with the Turks racing close behind. The weight of the gun was pulling him back, but Yazoo knew he had to keep it. If he were to run into anyone else…

However, that was exactly what was beginning to worry Yazoo. There _was_ no one. He was fleeing down stairs and stumbling through double doors, driven by a mad compulsion to get away. There were no Turks behind him, and where Yazoo was expecting for Hojo to jump out from one of the identical brown doors, no such thing happened. It was like the building wanted him to leave forever.

And when Yazoo did reach the main entrance, the security guard there either didn't notice him (which was hard to believe, since Yazoo was a child running around in pyjamas with a gun), or he had been ordered to ignore him. Yazoo stepped through the doors, racing down the large driveway where the raindrops on cars glistened. Grinning, a feeling of childish rebellion growing inside of him, Yazoo thought happily about shooting a hole in whichever car was Hojo's.

And even though his tatty trainers were soaked already from the large puddles, and that he was cold, hungry and sore, all that mattered was that he was out at last.

* * *

Lorna and Marshal had never been in Hojo's office in the evening. The sunset filtered through the blinds, illuminating the large room with an orange light that made it all the more creepy. Marshal wished for nothing more than for the meeting to end, so that he could get out and go downtown to party. It was Friday after all, and he was not a fan of overtime.

He was though, quite curious as to why Hojo called off the attempt to catch Yazoo, and this curiosity was the reason why he had accompanied Lorna to the Head of Science's lab-like office. Hojo was quickly finishing off a bit of paperwork, and Lorna, who was still in shock in seeing a small child wielding a gun, had just put her gum's wrapper in her mouth. She spluttered, taking it back out. At the unladylike noise, Hojo looked up from his work and smiled pleasantly at the two Turks.

"Now, I said that you two would be assigned to look over Yazoo," he said, "and that hasn't changed. Instead, the settings for my experiments have changed. I've turned it into a natural experiment, something you two probably wouldn't understand."

Lorna shook her head in disagreement. "You mean that the experiments will be observed outside of the labs rather than in them. You shouldn't underestimate the Turks, sir."

"You can see why I do though," Hojo said dryly as Marshal lit the wrong end of his cigarette. "Experiments Yazoo, Kadaj and Loz are a lot of trouble, see, and though I would love to see to this project myself, it would be more accurate if they were to be in a natural environment. That's why I let him – Yazoo that is – escape, back to those clones he calls his brothers."

"Sir, it wasn't wise to only have one employee assisting Yazoo with his schedule." Marshal arched his eyebrows, staring through a long brown fringe. "Deanes nearly got killed."

"I was trying to kill two birds with one stone, if you get my drift," Hojo replied smoothly. Marshal did catch Hojo's drift, and took an instinctive step backwards.

"What do we have to do then, Sir?" Lorna asked. "I mean, with the clones out in the open, that means we'll have to…"

"Exactly," smiled Hojo. "I'm not going to go trekking around after them. That's your job. Your boss agrees it's a marvellous idea of mine. You'll send me weekly reports on how they're doing, and ensure for their existence."

He steeped his fingers and rested his chin on them. "Though, to be more accurate, you'd do well to ensure for your own too. Today has proven that even the frail little Yazoo has a vehemence similar to Sephiroth's somewhere underneath that placid exterior of his."

* * *

A/N: So Yazoo's out now, which means that next chapter will have all three brothers. I hope my OCs were okay – I really wanted to put in proper Turks like Reno and Rude, but they're too young where this story's set. 

Next chapter: Yazoo goes to find Kadaj and Loz!


	11. Home

A/N: An update at last! Like I had said in the chapter before, this has all three brothers in it once more. It took me a while to think of a suitable chapter title – hope it's relatively okay Anyways, please read…

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain**

**Chapter 11: Home**

Smeared across the sky were streaks of long white clouds that, when Yazoo stared up at them as he sat on the edge of an alley skip, looked remotely like giant feathers. Dressed in soaked trainers, worn pyjamas and wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to keep warm, Yazoo was staring down the deserted narrow street hopefully, waiting for the moment to arrive when two bickering brothers would turn round the corner. The small gun rested in his lap, glinting in the autumn sunlight lazily.

The male Turk had mentioned a skip, so throughout the afternoon, Yazoo had searched through the city for a skip and when he found one, put up next to the high wall of a grey house and opposite a wire fence, it was an understatement to say he was disappointed. He had pictured vividly Loz and Kadaj sat on the skip together, waiting for him to join them, not an isolated rubbish container. However, a flicker of hope swelled in him as he noticed that a half eaten bread roll had been tossed aside by the skip, losing its shape and looking very similar to a thick yellow paste as it soaked up rainwater.

Yazoo had entertained himself for several hours by swinging his heels against the metal of the skip, discovering that for some odd reason, when he hit it with his left foot, it made a duller sound. Getting bored shortly, Yazoo had then resorted to study the weapon he had acquired only that afternoon. It felt cold against his hands, and rather heavy, reflecting rays of light off its black surface to turn it into a remarkable silver. It was quite impressive really, Yazoo had told himself with a smile, how something so beautiful could be so deadly at the same time.

The sunset skies shrouded the alley with a soft layer of dark red and orange, and as the day grew closer to an end, Yazoo's hopes of finding his brothers grew closer to fading. In one last desperate attempt, Yazoo climbed down the skip carefully, adjusting himself accordingly to the trainers that weren't exactly fit for walking in anymore. He held the gun tightly against him, and proceeded to walk down the alley, down the narrow streets where people seemed to avoid.

An awful thought Yazoo had been repressing all the while was now attacking his mind – that Loz and Kadaj had gone to the labs to find him, only to be captured by Hojo once more and put through unspeakable pain. He bit his lip with growing fright, and walked faster down the street, scanning his surroundings.

Yazoo wasn't sure how long he walked for, but he was reaching his limit as his feet began to ache, and it grew so dark, he'd probably walk past his brothers without noticing them. Admitting defeat, Yazoo slumped against a low wall, pushing his hair out from his eyes. He could barely feel his fingers that were curled around the gun, and with a pang of fear, he wondered where he was going to have to spend the night with no money at all. In a matter of seconds, Yazoo had formulated a plan that if he didn't find his brothers, he'd sell the gun to the nearest shop, and use the money he earned to stay at the closest inn, and tomorrow, he'd continue his –

Yazoo looked up quickly, suddenly getting the feeling that he ought to. And there he was, a small yet burly figure, lumbering down the road gracelessly with shopping bags held tightly in both hands. He was singing faintly, but clearly out of tune, and as he looked left and right to cross the road, there was the unmistakable silver hair that curled at the back. Yazoo found his legs had acted by themselves, running across the road with a burst of energy he hadn't had earlier, his throat ripping out the words, "Niisan! Niisan!" Loz had dropped the shopping bags on the ground unceremoniously, his mouth dropping open to give him an embarrassingly stupid look.

But Yazoo didn't care. He didn't care at all.

How he had longed to see that face once again! To see that gormless face staring at him once again! The gun flew out his hands and skidded across the pavement, forgotten. He crashed into his brother with force, and Loz, who was usually able to withstand things banging into him, fell backwards in surprise, his mouth opening and closing several times before stammering a weak "Y-Yazoo?"

Yazoo nodded against Loz, the weight of being alone, hurt and scared suddenly gone. He was no longer by himself, he couldn't get hurt when Loz was with him, he didn't need to be afraid anymore. Loz was here, he was really here. Sleepless nights after Hojo had locked the door, dreaming sadly about seeing his brothers again, feeling them embrace him…they were real. Yazoo was in the warm hug he had thought about so much, the thought that had kept his hope burning when there was so much trying to extinguish it. Something warm rolled down his cheek, and with a small laugh, Yazoo said, "Don't cry, Loz."

But, as Yazoo drew away from the hug to get another look at his brother's eyes, he found that his eyes too had betrayed him and let the stinging tears fall. He was doing exactly what Loz always did, snivelling and wiping under his nose self-consciously. Loz let out an odd noise that sounded something between a sob and a chuckle, reaching out a hand and using a thumb to brush away the wetness under Yazoo's eyes.

"Don't cry, Yazoo."

* * *

Yazoo was more than eager to help his brother take back the shopping, though the older brother was capable of doing it himself. It turned out that Loz and Kadaj were squatting, taking refuge in an old, abandoned house whose entrance was so small, it was hard to believe that there was actually a home there. The journey there was silent, the brothers deciding without having to tell each other that they'd talk about everything once Kadaj was with them. Occasionally, Loz would randomly grin at Yazoo, who in response, would gladly return it, feeling as light as those clouds he saw earlier on in the day.

To Yazoo's mild surprise, the home where he would be squatting was quite close to Shinra's research labs, and Loz seemed to notice Yazoo's slight hesitance as they squeezed through the door. "We were going to go to the labs…sometime, but…" He sniffed, deciding not to finish his sentence.

"Don't worry, niisan," replied Yazoo, "I wouldn't have wanted you or Kadaj to come anywhere closer to that place."

"I think that somewhere inside of us," Loz muttered, "we knew you'd make it back out again."

Yazoo nodded absently, dreamily. His head was still spinning by the fact that it was in the same day, he had escaped from the labs and reunited with his brothers. And shot someone in the process. A momentary feeling of guilt flitted in him, but it soon disappeared when Yazoo reasoned with himself that anyone who stood in the way of him and his brothers, deserved a bullet in them. He cast a fond glance down at the gun in the shopping bag he was carrying, and followed Loz through a dark hallway that was rather difficult to walk down, being so narrow and having cardboard boxes scattered around. A small sliver of light could be seen under a door that was nearly closed, and Loz, his eager expression only just visible in the dimness, pushed the door open slightly.

Yazoo couldn't help but smile. Sat cross legged with his back turned to the door was Kadaj, angrily using a pair of scissors on what used to be a newspaper. He was muttering away to himself with the vehemence and fervour he always had, snapping the scissors open and closed, and doing a rather poor job at it. Yazoo had no idea what Kadaj was trying to make with the newspaper, but the youngest brother's attempt at it had resulted in a mess on the blankets, in his lap, and even a few pieces managed to find their way into his hair.

Yazoo placed the gun on a nearby dusty table with crooked legs as quietly as possible. Then, feeling an excitable apprehension that his breathing might give him away, he crept up behind Kadaj, kneeling down on the sleeping bag and bringing his arms around him. And in a whisper, grinning all the while, he said, "Guess who."

In an instant, Kadaj's head whipped round so fast, his silver tresses whipped Yazoo in the face. The scissors were tossed aside dangerously, and joining it shortly was the newspaper. Kadaj's wide eyes displayed happiness, surprise, hate and anger all in one go, flashing madly underneath cross eyebrows and an all-too-familiar pout. Then, the gaze was gone, as Kadaj had now succumbed into a fresh wave of angry tears, tearing at Yazoo's pyjamas accusingly and desperately, burying his face into the soft crook of Yazoo's neck. Yazoo stroked his brother's hair, kissing his wet cheek and cuddling him close. Loz, who was stood awkwardly by the door, sat himself on the blankets, unpacking the shopping bags with deliberate slowness.

Kadaj grinned up at Yazoo, wiping his eyes quickly. "Did you miss me, niichan? Did you miss me and Loz?"

"Of course I did," Yazoo replied, "but you don't have to worry now. We can carry on together, and find Mother, we'll always – "

"If anyone tries to take us back there again," Kadaj threatened, though Yazoo wasn't sure who he was talking to, "I'll attack them, and stab them, and beat them up so much they'll bleed out their eyes, I'll – "

Kadaj faltered, watching as Loz put cans of food in a cupboard with its door swinging off its hinges. Yazoo made to look at him questioningly, but Kadaj had spoken somewhat differently, almost maturely, crawling to Loz whilst keeping a firm grip on Yazoo's hand.

"I'll help with that too." Kadaj grabbed a can, wrinkling his nose at its contents before sticking it in the cupboard. Yazoo then realised that in his absence, the bond between his brothers had grown stronger, and just to see that, it was well worth the pain at the labs. He watched contentedly as the two packed away the food together, occasionally sniggering at the odd sound the cupboard shelf made as it strained under the weight of their food.

With the space available in the sleeping bag, the three brothers settled in together, Kadaj sat in the middle. Yazoo rolled his eyes tiredly yet happily as Kadaj insisted on presenting a welcome back speech, which in summary, was a warm hug for Yazoo followed by a long list of what threats Kadaj would carry out if anyone dared to come after them again. Afterwards, Yazoo described in length his escape from the labs, purposely skipping over the parts where he felt excruciating pain and when he shot Deanes. Yazoo assumed that Loz already figured out the resort to violence on seeing Yazoo put the gun on the table, but there was no need for Kadaj to know until another day. As happy as he was, Yazoo didn't have the energy to listen to an animated Kadaj jabber about the new threats he could carry out with a gun in his hand.

And as Yazoo fluffed up his and his brothers' pillows, laying down, no matter where he was, whether it was the streets, the dingy home they were squatting in or even the labs, so long as he was with his brothers, he was home. He tilted his head to the side as Loz made to switch off the lamp, and smiled at the newspaper mess Kadaj had made. He wasn't sure, but judging by some of the shapes that lay there, deemed wrong and therefore cut up by the scissors, Kadaj was attempting to make three figures. One big, one skinny and one small.

* * *

A/N: It sounds like the end, but it isn't just yet – maybe a few more chapters to go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter – it's a pretty crucial one. Please review, I'd be so happy if you did!

Next Chapter: Following on with a few things that crop up in the actual movie, as well as (as MoonFox531 says) the brothers' stalkers! Stay tuned!


	12. Play

A/N: Hey, how are you all doing? This is a very late update, and I'm very sorry. My computer's broken, so I've had to resort to use my sister's one, and it has a very uncomfortable chair. Thank you to reviewers for the last chapter, virtual cookies for you all! Go on, indulge yourself.

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain**

**Chapter 12: Play**

Someone was mumbling. It was a soft, incoherent murmur, and it was pleasurably heartening. He felt his hair tug a little, and opening his eyes, Yazoo looked carefully down to his right, where grinning sleepily was Kadaj, eyes half closed. One of his hands was smoothing his hair into Yazoo's, so that their silver strands entwined with each other, fanned out across the pillow. Loz was curled up with his back facing them, taking half of the blankets with him. He looked blissfully asleep.

"Same," Kadaj mumbled, twisting some of Yazoo's hair with his. He shifted in the blankets and sat up, leaning across Loz to the broken cupboard. Yazoo stifled a chuckle as Kadaj muttered, "Come on, move you big lump…" and pushed the loose door repeatedly into Loz's stomach. The eldest grunted and rolled over to his other side. Kadaj grabbed something, and returning back to his space in the bed, he started chomping away on his breakfast. Yazoo felt something land on his cheek, and opened his eyes to find his younger brother eating an apple. So what had landed on him was probably a fleck of apple juice.

Kadaj grinned down at him, jiggling the apple slightly. "Morning niichan."

Yazoo sat himself up, taming his morning hair and then doing Kadaj's. "Morning, Kadaj. Did you sleep well?"

"Well, I did to start off with," Kadaj waved a hand carelessly, "but I woke up in the dead of night, busting for a pee. And after I went, I couldn't really get back to sleep."

"Why not?" Yazoo had just noticed how tired and pale Kadaj looked, but in the instant he noticed it, it was masked over with a bright grin and sparkling eyes.

"Loz was snoring," he replied, "he's gotten louder over these days, I swear."

"Shut up, brat," came Loz's muffled response. "Snoring's a sign of an adult. You're just jealous."

"Why would I be jealous of noises that make you sound like an ox?" Kadaj's voice increased in pitch. Yazoo rubbed the sides of his head as Loz made to pummel Kadaj, and the two brothers, through obvious snorts of amusement, broke into the playful fight that they always had.

Yazoo picked up Kadaj's apple (which had rolled across the blankets, forgotten), and took a bite out of it hungrily, glad to eat something that wasn't cold soup. Kadaj flopped onto the blankets, breathless from his laughing, head at Yazoo's knee and legs resting over Loz.

Yazoo smiled at his brothers, listening to their laughs and joining in. It was already a great day.

* * *

"I can't believe boss actually agreed for us to become Hojo's walking security cameras." Marshal was in a foul mood. He had been assigned a job he was not willing to do, and he had been turned down. His fellow partner, Lorna, had either not noticed his bad mood, or was avoiding it with the same uncaring air she always had. 

Right now, she was taking notes on a palm sized pad whilst looking through a pair of binoculars. She was chewing gum again, and whilst sat on the roof, several wrappers had blown away from her lap and fluttered to the empty street below them. Then only thing Marshal liked about Lorna's gum habits was that the strong mint smell took place of the putrid smell Midgar always seemed to have.

"You know, I think we should go complain," he said loudly. "I mean, we're Turks, we're ruthless trained people who do dangerous missions. We don't do _babysitting_!"

"Well, ever since you became my partner, my job's always felt like babysitting," Lorna replied dryly. She smirked as Marshal rolled his eyes. "Hey, what do we have here?"

She squinted through the binoculars, arching her eyebrows as a youth with long silver hair stuck his head out from the front door to a narrow house, looking round carefully. The boy fell forwards suddenly, and Lorna shook her head as she saw another boy swinging off the elder one's shoulders. The two were laughing. Marshal, who was looking through his own set of binoculars, casually remarked, "Look pretty happy don't they? Weird though, 'cause I always thought there was three. Didn't give Hojo give us photos and info about the three kids?"

"Hojo gave us the info we needed to know in that file you deemed as crap and didn't bother to read," replied Lorna. "Specimen B 'Loz' has more muscle advancements compared to the other two and has developed a broad spectrum of emotions, whatever that means. Specimen A 'Yazoo' has newly been developed and has unknown characteristics now. Previously labelled as the weakest of the three. Specimen C 'Kadaj' is the youngest – he's probably the one swinging off Yazoo now – and has severe mood swings that have resulted in four casualties."

"Whoa," Marshal commented, "how the hell did he do that?"

"Apparently, he bites people's hands and has a knack for throwing things when he's unstrapped," Lorna replied, adding lowly, "though it wouldn't surprise me if Hojo sent Kadaj down as well to do shooting practice as a way of getting rid of scientists he doesn't want employed."

She watched as the third brother – Loz – stuck his head around the door, saying something to his brothers. "You know," she mused, "for kids, they're quite clever."

"Why?" answered Marshal uninterestedly. "Don't tell me you're praising Hojo's work on his 'specimens'."

"They're squatting in a house, and to hide their presence, they've put their rubbish in the neighbours' bin."

"So? I don't see what's so impressive."

Lorna rolled her eyes, returning her gaze back through her binoculars whilst spitting out her gum. "I just think they're quite smart, quite innocent that's all. They're doing everything they can to hide themselves from the lab when they don't need to. Taking extra precautions because they don't want to be separated again. And there's no success in trying to hide your presence from someone who already knows you're there."

"There's no need to spy on them so intensively, Lorn, all we have to do is make sure they're not dead, and send some stupid report to that madman." Marshal looked at the time on his watch. "Let Hojo hear what he wants to hear about those kids, that they're _developing at a supreme rate_, whatever he babbles on about these days."

Lorna rolled her eyes and set the binoculars down. "Fine, we'll go and get some breakfast. I ought to know by now that you can't concentrate on work when you've just been rejected."

* * *

Yazoo had showered, eaten breakfast and tidied up the ground floor of their new home. He and Loz had spoken quietly to each other during their spring clean, where Yazoo admitted hurting the researcher Deanes. It seemed to be okay to tell Loz, who reassured his younger brother that it was the right thing to do, justifying himself with the same reason Yazoo had come up with, that stopping him from reaching his brothers deserved a punishment. Loz and Yazoo agreed to not tell Kadaj of the incident, knowing he would be fascinated about it so much, he'd probably wouldn't be able to think about anything else, and constantly pester for details. 

"Niisan," Yazoo addressed Loz as the two gathered rubbish in a cardboard box. Loz looked up. "You know that finding Mother won't be easy."

"…Where did that come from?" Loz said blankly.

"People may try to stop us, so we ought to keep the gun. Just in case."

"What, one gun between the three of us?" Loz snorted, shaking his head. "Do you know what I really want? A pile bunker."

Yazoo blinked uncomprehendingly, and Loz (who for once, knew more about something than Yazoo did), made up the size of the so-called pile bunker using his hands.

"It's about…that big?" He looked at his hands. "You fit it on your arm and it's a gun with a shield, basically."

"How do you know that?" Yazoo asked interestedly. He didn't know there were different sorts of guns, perhaps he could get something unique to him. Loz reached over and grabbed the newspaper Kadaj had been maiming yesterday.

"It was in here. It was talking about regulations for soldiers or something. Had quite a lot of information before it got destroyed."

Yazoo smiled slightly, and helped Loz to put the bits and pieces of the newspaper into the makeshift bin.

* * *

As it grew to around lunchtime, he noticed that their efforts had paid off and where the living room had been a bleak place with rubbish littered everywhere, was now a well dusted room that sported an elegant coffee table Yazoo had spent all morning trying to adjust the legs of so that it was sturdy. Loz, who was really taken to the idea of Happy Families, gushed on happily about how he had managed to make the cooker work. He had also brushed up on his culinary skills reading a recipe book Kadaj had found. The youngest brother, who had limits to how much work he did since he was the youngest after all and had a very low attention span, resorted to lining up a row of books and then going to play on the stairs. 

Yazoo hadn't taken much notice at first, but whilst gathering the empty cardboard boxes in the hallway (he seemed to be the only one tidying up now), daydreaming absently like he usually did, he realised that Kadaj would run up and down the stairs, but not bother to enter any of the rooms up there. There was never any sound of doors opening or closing. So, setting down his collection of boxes, Yazoo walked up the creaking stairs to see Kadaj on the landing, peering over the banister.

"Who do you think lived here, niichan?" asked Kadaj as he hung a square of cardboard over the balustrade, dropping it at a well-assessed time so that it landed on Loz's head as he walked back.

"I'm not sure, Kadaj," Yazoo replied, choosing to refrain from rolling his eyes as Loz shouted, "Oy, brat!"

Kadaj laughed to himself, stepping away from the banister and watching curiously as Yazoo made to open one of the two doors that connected to the landing.

"One of them doesn't open," Kadaj explained, a mischievous grin flitting across his face. "I told Loz that a dead person's locked in there, and he actually believed me."

Yazoo found that neither Loz's gullibility or Kadaj's mischief surprised him. In fact, he was happy to hear the two's antics again, teasing each other relentlessly. He opened the door that wasn't locked, wrinkling his nose as a revolting smell filled the air straight away. He got a quick glimpse of the shabby bedroom before deciding he couldn't tolerate it any longer and slammed the door shut. Kadaj pulled on his brother's sleeve and whispered loudly, "I don't think the bedsheet's been changed for about a year."

With disgust, Yazoo nodded in agreement, casting a look of disapproval at the door before turning back to his brother. Kadaj smiled at him with the innocence he usually had. Though Yazoo knew all too well that Kadaj's innocent grin hinted at anything _but_ innocence. He blinked, observing that Kadaj's hips seemed quite oddly proportioned. His left side was sticking out quite far, and on seeing where Yazoo was looking, Kadaj's grin turned impish.

"Have you forgotten something, niichan?" he asked with his expertly feigned adorability.

"…If I have, you've probably got it there…" Yazoo answered slowly. Kadaj cackled playfully, and pulled out from his pocket the gun. Yazoo gasped audibly. He had put the gun in a safe place, hadn't he?Yet there it was now, in the hands of a little boy who thought it was a toy of all things.

"Kadaj, I don't think…" Yazoo started, instinctively flinching as the gun spun round in the air helplessly when Kadaj started throwing and catching it, as though he thought it was a ball.

"You never told me you had a _gun_!" he exclaimed, beginning to whine enviously. "It's so _cool_!Did you shoot someone with it? Can I have it? Can I have it niichan?"

No was definitely Yazoo's answer, but he had busied himself with cringing and recoiling as Kadaj aimed the gun at a point only centimetres away from Yazoo's head. And with a manic giggle, Kadaj pulled the trigger. Yazoo jumped on impulse, but instead of a large bang, there was a small click.

Kadaj fell to the floor in hysterics, laughing raucously and taking out the unused bullets from his pockets. They rolled across the stained carpet, and Kadaj laughed even harder, clutching his stomach. Yazoo felt immensely stupid, but more so, furious. Kadaj found playing with a gun to be funny?

No of course not. It was that fact that he, Yazoo, had lost his cool nerve at the sight of a gun with no bullets. Had he really thought Kadaj would fire? Was that really how uptight he was?

Yazoo strode over to the rolling figure on the floor moodily, snatching the gun out of his brother's loose grip and scooping up the bullets. He stuffed the weapon into his back pocket, his temper rising as Kadaj looked up from the floor breathlessly, grinning.

"That was funny wasn't it, niichan?" he snickered. "Maybe I'll try it on Loz too and see if he falls for it too!"

"No," Yazoo said firmly, feeling his face redden in a mixture of humiliation and fury "You're never touching that gun again because it's mine, do you hear me? And by the way, that _wasn't_ funny at all. Not even one bit."

Kadaj crawled to the banister, sticking his head between two wooden posts and clutching onto them with his hands.

"Loz! Yazoo's got PMS again!"

Yazoo's face – if it was even possible – reddened even more and Kadaj grinned over at him, collapsing against the railings and laughing quietly. Yazoo rolled his eyes, glaring with as much ferocity he could muster, but it only served to make Kadaj laugh even more. He sighed and sat on the top stair, raking his hair tiredly. Kadaj was still snickering away, now sat next to Yazoo with his arms draping around skinny shoulders. The impish laugh was right next to Yazoo's ear, and Yazoo had to join in, laughing softly and massaging the sides of his head resignedly.

Their laughter rang down the stairs to where Loz chuckled to himself, unable to hide his happiness from hearing his two brothers, not just one, laughing. He turned a page of his culinary book, and continued to read about spaghetti carbonara for three.

* * *

A/N: Ah, Kadaj gives Yazoo so much grief. Please be kind and review – it'd be really cool if I got over 100! Three digit number! Please review! 

Next chapter: I'll chuck in some more randomness, probably some Yazoo and Loz interaction.


	13. Blades

A/N: In gratitude of over 100 reviews, I've written an extra long chapter. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all reviewers for such great support, so, thank you! Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 13: Blades**

A pleasing unfamiliar smell wafted through the usually musty air of the house's hallway, and it was only a few seconds before Yazoo that Kadaj noticed it too. The youngest of the three immediately stuck his nose in the air, sniffing and then, apparently satisfied, flashing a cheeky grin at the brother accompanying him on the top of the stairs.

"Oh good, 'cause I'm starving," he muttered. "Loz has been cooking for ages, says it takes time in the oven or something, but it _must _be done now."

He bounded past cheerfully, making a move towards Yazoo's back pocket in a joking attempt to steal the gun. Yazoo shot him a glare, but since Kadaj was already halfway down the stairs, it went unnoticed. It hadn't been even an hour since Kadaj had gotten into mischief with the weapon, and hence, it still was of interest to him, though Yazoo knew that since the gun was out of bounds for Kadaj, it had become an object of great fascination to the youngest of the three.

When Yazoo got downstairs, eagerly taking in the smell and feeling hungry, he found Loz in the kitchen, closing one of the recipe books with a smug look. He opened the door to the oven, which groaned in process. Yazoo hid a smile on seeing his brother armed with mouldy oven gloves that were coated in dark brown marks that showed how often they had been used before. Yazoo decided to stick to waiting in the doorway, slightly entertained in watching Kadaj crane his neck to see past Loz into the oven.

"Out the way, brat, the kitchen's a dangerous place," grumbled Loz, "that's what it says in the introduction of _Cooking Made Easy_. I said, move out the way!"

"Ew, you burned it, look, it's black around the edges." Kadaj snickered, pointing at the dish Loz had now taken out.

"I'd like to see you do better," came the heated response. "Now get away, before I accidentally stick your head in this oven on purpose."

Kadaj complied, deciding to copy Yazoo and lean against the doorframe with his arms folded. His eyes – though they were genuinely wide with innocent curiosity as they studied Loz's cookery – flicked every now and then towards where Yazoo kept his gun, in a manner that was not very innocent at all. Yazoo met his gaze once, warning him without words, however all this seemed to initiate was a devious smirk.

Loz, who was blissfully ignorant of the increasing friction between his two brothers and the gun, scooped their lunches onto three separate plates, humming to himself. Yazoo, like he always did, opted to stay out of bickering arguments, losing himself in his thoughts. A few moments later, Kadaj had leapt forwards again, bringing his face close to his lunch plate, snickered and said, "What's this stuff Loz? It looks like fried caterpillars with orange bits sticking out of it."

Loz looked up, clearly offended. Yazoo quickly stopped himself from smiling, choosing to look over at rusty saucepans that they couldn't quite get any cleaner. Once he had controlled himself so that his expression was once again neutral, he saw that Loz had drawn himself up to his full height, proving to be a lot taller than Kadaj.

"It's tuna pasta bake, actually. The 'caterpillars' are called pasta, and the 'orange bits' are the pieces of tuna. If you don't like it, then don't eat it."

Kadaj merely sniggered even more, running out the kitchen with his lunch. Yazoo exchanged looks with his brother, the mutual agreement of how difficult it was to keep up with Kadaj clear in their gazes. Without another word, Loz thrust Yazoo's plate roughly into his hands before walking out the door. Not particularly affected by the cold action and assuming Loz did so because he was annoyed with Kadaj, Yazoo followed after him into the cramped living room. He found that instead of sitting at the coffee table, Kadaj had decided on settling with his lunch on the sleeping bag.

"Don't you want to sit at the table?" asked Yazoo. "It'll be a lot easier to eat your lunch Kadaj."

"Why don't you come and sit with me?" Kadaj called back. "It's warmer here."

Yazoo lifted his gaze off his lunch (which was in fact rather appetizing and threatening to steal all of his attention). The small figure on the sleeping bag that was his brother was sat so that whether intentionally or not, his back was turned to them. It made it all the more difficult to get any idea as to how Kadaj was feeling, and Yazoo was fairly sure that the youngest merely wanted to be a nuisance and resort to his usual whims of annoying for fun.

So Yazoo turned to the elder brother, smiling slightly at the fact that Loz's lunch was almost gone. It seemed that the three of them were hungry from their day's hard work in cleaning. Over the course of the next few minutes, Yazoo finished off his tuna pasta bake appreciatively and Loz, who had finished a long time ago, edged nearer to him with an eager expression.

"Did you like it, Yazoo? How's my cooking?"

Yazoo gave a brisk nod, but it was a good enough compliment for Loz. The eldest puffed out his chest proudly, eyeing his recipe books fondly and reaching out a hand to pick up one of them.

"You know, cooking's actually quite fun – I'm glad I learnt the basics of it with Elmyra."

It took Yazoo several moments before he remembered who Loz was talking about – a friendly woman who had taken care of his two brothers. Apparently – to the extent of how reliable Loz's gushing was – Elmyra and her daughter had taken such great care of them, they would be people Loz and even Kadaj would truly miss. And considering Kadaj rarely had strong attachments to anything besides his brothers, the fact that this was changing aroused some unwanted feeling of very deep jealousy inside of Yazoo.

It was not however, as though Yazoo wished he had taken his brothers with him to the labs. It was simply because, Yazoo told himself firmly, he had endured a long time of no compassion at all. And he had his brothers now, and that meant compassion. Yazoo brushed aside the trivial emotion of jealousy as Loz showed him a particular page in his book.

"This'll be dinner I think. I want to try something quite simplistic but nice at the same time…tuna pasta bake takes way too long…"

Yazoo flicked through the cookery book with rising admiration. He was already confused by the instructions. He wondered to himself why there were such precise measurements for ingredients, such elaboration on how to get the optimum taste. Where Yazoo thought food was simply food, and everything was black and white, Loz had always been the opposite. The eldest had a knack to be able to see the beauty in anything, no matter how insignificant or impossible it seemed. Loz, through his acquisition of such an emotional personality, could feel so much and see so much. And that in itself, Yazoo smiled, perhaps explained why Loz could enjoy cooking, or cleaning, or anything at all.

In the lingering silence as Yazoo turned the pages of the book randomly, he pondered what life would be like if he were to see it through Loz's eyes. The book would actually interest him for one thing.

"Well, I know for sure that if I were to cook, it wouldn't be half as good as what you made, niisan," Yazoo said earnestly. Loz grinned, and typically, his eyes were becoming watery. "Oh for goodness sake, there's no need to cry about it."

"Sorry," Loz muttered. "I can't help it. Elmyra said that I cooked really well at her house, a-and she said t-that she really hoped we'd find you, and you could try my food, you know…"

Loz was at it again, Yazoo smiled tiredly. Making a big deal out of such small things, affected so strongly by mere words. He patted his older brother's shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. Loz gave him a faint grin, reaching out a hand to push back Yazoo's bangs.

"Your fringe's getting long," he commented.

"I know – it gets into my mouth sometimes because it's so long." The silver tresses flopped back in Yazoo's face as Loz moved his hand away, and in doing so, Yazoo glimpsed Kadaj sat over at the other side of the room. He had moved his head round to look over at his brothers, and Yazoo wasn't certain, but from what he saw, Kadaj appeared to be quite hurt by something. Before he had any time to dwell on this though, Yazoo quickly fixed his attention back onto Loz, who had leapt to his feet suddenly.

"Here, I'll cut the fringe for you."

Loz took his and Yazoo's plates to the kitchen, and during the time Yazoo waited for Loz to return, he shifted a little from his cross legged position, leaning over the coffee table. Kadaj's plate was completely empty, and raising his voice a little so that he could be heard, Yazoo called, "So you liked Loz's lunch as well, did you?"

"I was hungry, and I eat anything when I'm hungry, even live things." Kadaj had at least turned around, and despite the distance between the two, Yazoo made no mistake in seeing the malice in the green eyes staring at him. He got to his feet, crossing the room and sitting next to Kadaj.

"You should compliment Loz – he's taking such good care of us. He looked after you whilst I was gone, didn't he? He cared for you more than anything else whilst I was at the labs…"

"Don't."

Yazoo softened, ending the conversation with a quiet "…Sorry."

Kadaj didn't feel like acknowledging the apology by the looks of it, choosing instead to twirl his fork in his fingers. Then, in a way that was almost tentative, Kadaj reached for Yazoo's fringe, letting the strands slither through his fingers and bounce off Yazoo's nose afterwards. Yazoo rested a hand on top of Kadaj's silvery head, looking up as Loz walked back in, a pair of scissors in his hand.

"Knew there was a pair hanging around in the kitchen somewhere – it was behind the bread bin," he said. He sat down opposite Yazoo, setting a stained cloth over their laps to catch the falling hairs. Kadaj, who had moved aside a little, continued to play with the fork with very little interest.

"'Bout here, okay?"

"That's fine niisan."

Loz brought the scissors up carefully. "Don't move now, or else it'll all go wrong."

"I won't." Yazoo shut his eyes, hearing the scissors squeak open and then snip slowly at his fringe. He ensured he sat as still as he could, eyes firmly shut, but on hearing a small scuffling next to him, he reopened them and saw Kadaj leaving the room. He explained himself with a single word.

"Toilet."

"Okay," Yazoo replied, looking past Loz to see Kadaj toss the fork behind him onto the coffee table.

"I told you don't move!" Loz hissed suddenly. "You're turning your head to the side! Do you _want_ your fringe to be wonky or something?"

Yazoo straightened his head again as a few more silver strands fell down slowly onto the waiting cloth. When Loz next spoke, he was a lot quieter and the annoyance he had previously had gone.

"What's wrong with Kadaj? He's been a bit funny this afternoon you know." Loz shifted his gaze to look into Yazoo's eyes, curiosity and concern clear on his face.

"…Concentrate on my hair please, niisan," he replied politely.

"Oh yeah, sure…"

Yazoo waited for his fringe to be cut, waited for Loz to finish folding up the cloth before saying anything about Kadaj. Only when Loz and he had nothing else to occupy themselves with did he admit to his older brother about Kadaj finding the gun and his fascination for it.

"You know what he's like," Loz sighed after hearing Yazoo's story. "He finds anything new to be interesting. He's curious, that's all."

"Still, I think I was a bit harsh on him," Yazoo muttered. "It was meant to be a joke after all, but I suppose I couldn't see the funny side of it. I'm far too uptight."

"S'not a bad thing," Loz replied sagely, "that's just the way you are…I mean, when we were over in Kalm…"

Loz's voice was abruptly blocked out by a strong feeling that overwhelmed Yazoo. It was as though an invisible hand inside of him had squeezed his heart, squeezing it mercilessly. He could hear his heartbeat, unnaturally loud, and there, in front of him, was not Loz but Sephiroth, his slitted eyes flashing, reflecting emotion that was none short of rage.

"He's angry," Yazoo whispered. He leapt onto his feet, grabbing the door handle as Loz crashed into him from behind, calling in confusion, "Who, Kadaj? Where is he?"

"Kadaj!" Yazoo shouted. He gripped the bathroom door as he reached it, turning it and turning it. It was locked. He looked over at Loz helplessly.

"Kadaj?" The oldest brother brought his face to the door, speaking gently. "Kadaj it's okay, it's me, Loz. Open the door, yeah?"

Yazoo's heart was hammering, and he was glaring incredulously at Loz. They had to get in the bathroom_now_! If he had just seen Sephiroth, that meant that Kadaj could have seen him!His little brother was probably hurt, they had to get to him now!

"Move out the way niisan," Yazoo instructed loudly. Without a second though, he took the gun out of his back pocket (at this point, Loz yelped and scurried halfway down the hallway), took aim at the lock, and fired. For the first time since his escape from the labs, Yazoo heard the deafening bang emitted from the weapon, the contact of metal on metal penetrating the air with an ear piercing screech. And though Yazoo was used to the sound of it, he immediately sensed revulsion and sickness he hadn't felt before. Loz was stood nearby, eyes wide and watery, mouth wide open in horror. And someone was screaming, a muffled sob that sounded worse than the gunshot itself.

Yazoo ran into the door shoulder first, stumbling into the small tiled bathroom. Whatever he was expecting, it was not this. Drops of red had stained the sink, the grey floor and the edge of the toilet seat. Sat with knees tucked up to his chest, curled up under the sink was Kadaj. His hands were pressed firmly onto his ears, eyes squeezed shut. Blood was seeping from one of his hands, leaking slowly and trickling down his hair and dripping onto his kneecap. The fear in Kadaj...had Kadaj seen something horrible? Or had he endured horrible pain? No, Yazoo noted with a sick feeling churning in him, it was because he had fired the gun in front of him. How terrifying must that have been for such a small boy?

"…Shit," Loz gasped, "shit Kadaj what the hell have you been doing?"

Yazoo scanned the room, finding at Kadaj's foot a pair of scissors. Not the big scissors Loz had used to cut his hair, they were a small pair, with friendly handles ideal for young children who were creative. Yet the innocent item had been blemished as the two blades were split, leaving it in a position that was dangerous. One of the blades were darkened a dull red.

"…Don't point that thing at me, niichan," Kadaj whimpered, looking up. Yazoo noticed something, a minute detail of Kadaj that had changed. "Put the gun down niichan."

Yazoo did so, with deliberate calm and slowness. The gun was not a toy, and Kadaj seemed to know it. He was staring at it with an apprehensive gaze, no longer with fascination. Yazoo knelt down, moving the scissors away. Loz had already come forward, shaking out the cloth wrapping Yazoo's hair and covering Kadaj's hand with it. Yazoo got a quick glimpse of the hand, sporting a long red gash. His loose hair fluttered down to rest on his and his brothers' knees.

Kadaj swallowed, looking up guiltily at them both. "…I was only trying to cut my hair too."

Yazoo nodded, for he had seen that part of Kadaj's fringe was significantly shorter than the rest, tarnishing his hair somewhat. Kadaj's eyes displayed a mixture of hurt, embarrassment, but most of all, fear. His gaze darted between Yazoo and the gun, and his lower lip began to tremble. Loz, who had wrapped Kadaj's injured hand in the cloth securely, now had the youngest brother in his arms protectively. And it was then that Yazoo realised that Loz was also looking at the weapon that lay idly near him. Had Yazoo overdone it by firing in clear view of his brothers? A simple pair who had not seen anything that could taint their innocence so easily…

"Did it hurt?" Yazoo took Kadaj's bandaged hand.

"No. I just slipped. It just sliced, and didn't hurt when it did." Kadaj shrugged lightly. "Hurt a bit afterwards, like a sting, but it's gone now."

He sniffed quietly, but it was audible. Yazoo exchanged looks with Loz, and together, they aided their brother out of the bathroom. Yazoo opted for silence whilst Kadaj admitted that all he wanted to do was try something new. Loz offered a few comforting words – to both Kadaj and Yazoo – talking lightly as though he was afraid someone would hear him. Kadaj was a difficult one to understand, both Yazoo and Loz knew, but at times, they would simply have to go with the flow of the youngest's conflicting emotions.

Kadaj's uninjured hand had lifted itself up slightly so that it linked with Loz's as they walked into the living room. Yazoo felt encouraged and warm seeing the two so close, but once again, inside of him somewhere, a tinge of envy rose in him. He had changed since being at the labs. He was no longer the brother that he used to be. He had attained unintentional feelings of jealousy and aloofness, such impassiveness when handling deadly objects…was that what his brothers had suddenly grown fearful of?

The gun was left in the bathroom, and it remained there for the rest of the evening.

* * *

A/N: I did a fun, happy chapter last time, so I thought I'd change it to something darker this time. I think Kadaj would switch from mood to mood very quickly, and I wanted Loz to have a bigger part too. As for Yazoo, the effects of the labs are beginning to show up in him now - a new plotline - this story's still got a while to go, people! There's also a very vague reference to Souba with the scissors having a dark and light blade, but that's for the next chapter. 

Please review this chapter if you have the time. Til next time!


	14. Promise

A/N: So many reviews! Thank you so much people! And just a quick note to Cherry – this fic's purely to do with the three brothers as children. That pairing's in my other fic, so don't worry!

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 14: Promise**

The first thing Yazoo saw the next morning was a small plate of two fried eggs and a bit of bacon, both equally burnt, with a fork speared in one of the unfortunate eggs. Neither of his brothers were in the living room, and on realising this, the middle brother was a little confused. Then, he remembered the day before, vague recollections of the bloodstained bathroom, Kadaj's crying and the gunshot.

The makeshift bed he sat on was unusually tidy and smooth on him, as though someone had tucked him in the blankets and wished for him to sleep longer. Yazoo got out of bed, dressing himself in his usual jumper and jeans before brushing his hair and pulling on a pair of socks.

As he walked into the small hallway, holding with him his breakfast of eggs and bacon, there was the faint sizzling sound of something cooking, and some hushed voices talking. It was only when Yazoo stuck his head round the kitchen door that he found that Kadaj was in fact, talking to himself. The youngest brother was stood on a dangerously wonky stool, looking over at the cooker with a tattered apron that came down to his ankles. A thin cloth had been wrapped around his injured hand, and listening hard enough, it was audible that Kadaj was describing the hissing food he was making.

Yazoo reached a hand up to rest on Kadaj's head whilst walking past. Kadaj flashed a grin at him, sticking his tongue out. He wobbled on the stool slightly, off balance, and for a moment, Yazoo thought he was going to fall.

"Have you eaten breakfast? You know, the eggs I cooked for you?" Kadaj stirred the soup in the cooking pot vigorously, as though he was trying to kill it, eyebrows knitted together and frowning with concentration. Yazoo snapped out of his thoughts.

"You made breakfast?"

"Kinda. Loz cracked the eggs and stuff because I couldn't do it." Kadaj gave him a sheepish look. "They kept breaking in my hands."

Yazoo could picture that quite easily. Already, the youngest brother had made a complete mess of the kitchen, his apron drenched in a thick mixture and the soup had managed to coat the tips of his fingers, and even settle on his chin. Kadaj was a walking disaster when it came to cooking, and by the looks of it, Kadaj was aware of this, and having the time of his life.

"Now, Loz says that a good accompaniment to soup is bread…" Kadaj took out a loaf of bread from its plastic wrapping, tossing the slices carelessly onto a waiting plate. "…Done. And Loz says that cooking's hard."

Yazoo smiled faintly, taking a mouthful of his blackened egg and keeping his face neutral so that Kadaj wouldn't notice how bad Yazoo thought his food really was.

"Did Loz let you take charge of the kitchen?" he asked. Kadaj responded with a light shrug.

"He said okay, helped me out a bit." A grin flashed across his face. "What do you think? Good breakfast? I'm doing your lunch as well."

Yazoo grimaced, but quickly hid it. The so-called eggs and bacon he was eating tasted more like ashes in his mouth, and he was in desperate need for some water to down it. Kadaj took Yazoo's contorted face as a good sign, and stirred his soup with more enthusiasm. Yazoo shuddered to think what Kadaj had chucked in that brew of his. Nevertheless, disinclined to lower his brother's good spirits, Yazoo wiped Kadaj's chin with a finger, putting it onto the filthy apron instead before asking where Loz was.

"He's taking the rubbish out, like a good little garbageman," Kadaj sang happily. And soon enough, the door to their hideout opened, bringing in a fresh, chilly wind as well as a soaked older brother.

"Absolutely tipping it down with rain out there," Loz grumbled, raking through his wet hair. He looked up to see Yazoo standing in the hallway to greet him, and though it was very slight, the hesitance Loz spoke with was noticeable to him.

"…Morning Yazoo. Well, afternoon really. You woke up quite late." Loz – for some odd reason, and Yazoo wasn't liking it – had grown a sudden tendency to talk to Yazoo's forehead than to his eyes. Although irritated, Yazoo wasn't someone to let it get to him, so he gestured with a weak smile to his breakfast.

"Someone's having fun in the kitchen."

Loz chuckled, looking towards the kitchen fondly. "Yeah, he's been at it all morning. We made eggs and bacon, crepes…" Loz began to count them on his fingers "…we also attempted a tryout casserole for tea, but we ran out of ingredients, so Kadaj has converted it into soup."

Yazoo didn't have a clue as to what a casserole was, but Kadaj converting it didn't sound appetizing at all. Loz noticed his face, and the two of them gave each other faint grins – it was a huge effort to keep at Kadaj's pace.

"That's something I was meant to ask you," Yazoo said as he headed back into the living room, "why didn't you wake me up? I…" he faltered a little, wondering whether he ought to continue "…I wouldn't've minded learning some cooking too."

Loz looked the most uncomfortable he had been in a while, fixing his gaze firmly on a cardboard box by his feet. Loz furrowed his eyebrows, struggling to find an answer to the question. Yazoo waited patiently.

"…Yazoo, I just needed to talk to Kadaj for a while." Loz was talking more to the floor than to his younger brother, yet the message was clear. Evidently, there was something about him, Yazoo, that Loz felt the urge to have to discuss.

"What about?"

Loz sat down on the tattered sofa behind him, offering a half-hearted smile that looked as though it actually caused him pain. Yazoo stood, staring.

"Yazoo, you've changed."

An impulsive rush of laughter bubbled through Yazoo, and it escaped his lips with unintended insensitivity.

"Niisan, what are you talking about? You're being melodramatic again." Yazoo chuckled quietly to himself, but stopped when he noticed Loz was not smiling at all. On the contrary, his eyes were wide, blinking furiously in an attempt to not let his threatening tears fall.

"No, listen Yazoo, you really have changed. Kadaj thinks so too." Loz swallowed, as though having to speak was causing him unnecessary pain. "Yesterday, when Kadaj was in the bathroom--"

"If you're talking about that gun again--"

"Yes I am," Loz snapped with his usual defensiveness, leaping to his feet. "You looked all the more eager to fire it!"

Yazoo stared at his brother.

"You didn't hesitate, you just fired. A-and that's not you at all."

Yazoo could feel his temper burbling inside of him, almost surfacing, but like on countless occasions, he repressed it. "Niisan, you gushed on and on about pile bunkers and the like, you have a fascination for weapons as much as I do…"

"We need protection, I agree with that," Loz said, and he stood up. Yazoo hadn't noticed the fury in Loz's watery eyes, but then again, he was very flustered and confused when having an argument with Loz, for arguing with his older brother was so rare. "Yazoo, even if I had a pile bunker, I wouldn't turn it onto a door which my younger brother was hiding behind."

Again, all Yazoo could do was stare. Loz gulped, forcing himself to conclude his argument with, "…The old you would've got Kadaj out by talking to him, not resorting to that…thing."

It was a hurtful comment to hear. But, as Yazoo repeated it in his head, he realised that Loz had a very fair point. If he had cleared his head during yesterday's situation, he would've talked to Kadaj through the door, asking him gently to open the door so that he could come in. Instead though, driven by an inexplicable sensation to draw and fire, Yazoo had shot off the lock. The real him wouldn't've done that, he was being controlled, he was sure of it. Was he going mad?

"…I'm g-going mad," Yazoo stuttered. Loz wiped his eyes, and gave a jerky nod. Yazoo could see his and Loz's hands trembling, and moving his gaze from the snivelling older brother to the doorway, his heart tightened to see another figure there.

Still dressed in the dirty apron and clutching close to him a tray of three bowls, Kadaj stood with awkwardness. The uneven part of his fringe swayed over one of his eyes, a haunting reminder of the incident. Loz had succumbed to his crying, curling up on the sofa whilst pushing a cookery book out of the way.

"Niisan," Yazoo muttered. Kadaj set his tray aside, and ambled over to Loz with difficulty, stumbling over the long apron as well as one of the loose laces of his trainers. He patted the coiled hair of his brother, murmuring words of reassurance. Yazoo fidgeted with his sleeve.

He really was losing it. His brothers could see it too. Even without telling them about his Mako treatment, the ghostly visits of Sephiroth, they could sense his change. He had become more laidback about violence, as though it was a routine thing, a natural thing.

But he was Yazoo. Nothing, not even Sephiroth, could change that. Surely Loz could understand that.

"…Whilst you were at the labs, we wondered if you'd be, you know, the same when we see you again." Loz's voice was croaky, and behind him, nearly hidden from view from the mop of silver hair and Loz's shoulder, Kadaj's eyes displayed agreement. "…We thought that maybe you'd become Sephiroth, a-and…I don't know, punish us for not coming back with you…"

Yazoo fiddled with several strands of his hair. Then, resolutely, looking at Loz square in the eye, he headed over to his brothers and knelt down.

"Listen, niisan. I would never do anything to hurt either of you. _Never_." He stared long and hard; he had to get this message across to them and himself. Loz's eyes were bloodshot, swollen and awful to look at. But, Yazoo smiled lightly, where Loz cried, there was always a small smile that followed soon afterwards.

"P-promise?" Loz stammered.

"Promise."

"I promise too," Kadaj chipped in. An impish grin came onto his face. "I promise I won't beat either of you up when I become stronger than you two put together."

Yazoo pushed back Kadaj's fringe affectionately. "You do that, Kadaj."

* * *

A/N: A bit sappy, this chapter, but it's necessary. You know, brotherly love and all that. I'm also sorry to say that the next chapter will be the last one :( Velvet Nightmare, Dual Hound and Souba will give a hopefully grand finale to this fic, so stay tuned please!

However, the remotely good news is that I will be doing a similar fic to this one, following on from it very vaguely. It centralises around Yazoo's weird personality and Kadaj as a stressy teenager.

As usual, I'm going to ask you to be so kind and send me a review – it'd be so nice if you did :)

Next Chapter: A conclusion to the fic...


	15. Love

A/N: Hey people…this is the last chapter…enjoy, and read the lengthy notes at the end!

* * *

**Ame ni Matte**

**Wait in the Rain **

**Chapter 15: Love**

_**Weekly Report 4:** 11/10 to17/10_

_**From:** Lorna Relson and Marshal Gray_

_**To:** Professor Hojo, ShinRa Labs_

_It has been nearly a month now since the settings for the Jenova Project clones 2-4 A, B and C were all placed in natural surroundings. Over the course of this week, there have been several noticeable changes in the three. We mentioned in the Weekly Report 2 of the three taking a shopping trip together, where the photo images sent gave proof that 2-4-A Experiment 'Yazoo' placed an order in a SOLDIER weaponry store. _

_We have enclosed a copy of the documents Yazoo signed, after spending this week interrogating the manager, one Alexander Frest. As a side note, Yazoo's signature reads 'Y.Gast'. On Frest's account and by studying these documents, it can be confirmed that Yazoo ordered a gun and a pile bunker. Their models are R1972/54 and P77.9 respectively. Frest has also verified that he gave a 20 discount price and sold to these youngsters since he thought they were purchasing the items for Sephiroth. We have asked him to continue as usual and allow for business with these underage purchasers. The order will be picked up this coming Tuesday._

_On Thursday, we spotted 2-4-B Experiment 'Loz' in Wall Market. By studying the images we have sent you, it is clear that the oldest of the three has taken charge of the gun stolen by Yazoo before his escape. Outside visits and conversations suggest that the three have a fierce trust in each other, and 2-4-C Experiment 'Kadaj', despite having a keen interest in it before (refer to Weekly Report 1), has lost his enthusiasm for it. On the topic of Kadaj, it may be good to note that on at least two occasions, he has been spotted sitting on the wall outside their home, using scissors to cut out all sorts of shapes. It may be his new fascination; we will keep you informed._

_We have sent to President Shinra a copy of our reports, and he requests for you to actually turn up to the board meeting next Friday. He also reminds you that the fee for the gun misplaced in this Jenova Project still needs to be paid._

* * *

There it was again, a small tap against his shoulder. 

"Niichan!"

Yazoo stirred. Someone was shaking him, hissing in his ear.

"Niichan! Wake up!"

He forced his eyes open, greeted by a hazy blue night. Eyelids and limbs felt so heavy, and all Yazoo wanted to do was go back to bed. He was shaken again. Blinking, rubbing his eyes and at last, getting used to the darkness, he looked up from his pillow to see why he had woken up. It was not at all surprising.

"…What is it Kadaj?" he muttered.

"I have hiccups!" Kadaj whispered loudly. "Look look, watch."

Yazoo did so with eyes half closed. There was nothing at first but then there was a loud _hic_ and he saw Kadaj's whole frame jump, visible even in the dark. A giggle escaped from Kadaj.

"I told you I have them. How do I get to sleep with them?"

"…Drink some water."

The blankets ruffled as Kadaj flopped down next to him, the youngster's chin pressing against his shoulder blade. Yazoo could feel Kadaj smiling against him.

"Loz is in the way. I'll need you to help me move him."

Yazoo, still laying down and refusing to get up, felt through the dark to his left and grasped the neck of a small bottle, bringing it back to nudge it against Kadaj's arm.

"You can drink some of mine."

Kadaj sat up, and there was an audible tut from him. "…You were meant to push Loz out the way with me. You're not interesting."

"…You'll find I'm like that when I'm half asleep."

Yazoo watched as Kadaj took a sip from the bottle, wiping his mouth and leaning against the cupboard behind him. There was a short silence, which Yazoo was enjoying. It allowed him to slowly and discreetly drop off back to sleep. He let his eyes shut, but Kadaj spoke up.

"I'm also quite sick." Yazoo could see that sly grin, even with his dark surroundings and his hair in his eyes. Over the years, it was something Yazoo was able to sense, and sure enough, Kadaj lifted the bottle once more to his lips, added roguishly, "I think it was those flapjacks you made."

Yazoo sat bolt upright. Talking of his cooking was a very sensitive subject, since as fate had it, it was even worse than Kadaj's burnt breakfasts and experimental recipes. Memories of serving smouldering flapjacks that looked more like scorched bricks.

"_Don't_ blame my flapjacks for your sudden illness," Yazoo spat. "I made those _two days_ ago!"

Kadaj snorted, and water spurted out from his mouth and the bottle, splashing onto the blankets and unfortunately, on Yazoo as well.

"Made you moody! Made you moody!" sang Kadaj. Yazoo rolled his eyes, willing himself to try and see the funny side of the situation.

"You also made a mess," he stated. Kadaj was clutching his stomach, laughing uncontrollably and taking no notice of what Yazoo was saying. Yazoo took his younger brother in his arms, covering Kadaj's mouth as Loz stirred at the noise. Within a few moments though, the oldest had fallen back into his deep sleep. Kadaj looked up at Yazoo with wide apologetic eyes, and Yazoo let him go.

"Heh heh, that was funny," murmured Kadaj, fixing the lid on the bottle and attempting to wipe the wet patches on the blankets with a sleeve. "Look at Loz, niichan, his foot's sticking out. And he's snoring again."

"He's tired, like me," Yazoo replied dryly. "Not everyone has the same amount of energy you have in the dead of night."

Kadaj's eyes glistened. He joined Yazoo, sitting next to him and linking their arms. "So. Are you excited about tomorrow?"

Yazoo stifled a yawn. Kadaj was persisting for him to answer, judging by the way he stared avidly. Yazoo propped his chin up with a hand, feeling warmth in the blankets and wishing he could go back to sleep soon. He ought to have expected for his younger brother to have difficulty sleeping the night before a big day.

"…I'm relatively excited," Yazoo answered, and, realising it sounded rather lame, added, "I'm not particularly fussed about what my gun will look like, I just want to see Loz when he gets that pile bunker. He really deserves it."

Kadaj nodded in agreement, but Yazoo saw a faint scowl. The eyes had looked away, and where there used to be a content smile, there was now a pout. Yazoo brought his hand up to rest on the back of Kadaj's head.

"We went through this yesterday," he said softly. "You're too young, and I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"I know, you just said we went through this yesterday, why remind me again?" Kadaj shot him an angry look, but it was followed by a smile. "I'll get a gun or something later on though, won't I?"

"Absolutely." Yazoo lay back down in the blanket as Kadaj joined him, still keeping a hold of his arm. Loz muttered something in his sleep, and reaching out, Yazoo tucked the blankets under his older brother's chin and straightened his pyjama collar.

* * *

That morning, Yazoo was devastated to find he was the last to wake up. It meant that his breakfast was cold, he had wasted much of his day, and that he could be late for the weaponry store he was due to go to. He hurried down the stairs, putting on his jumper and rushing into the bathroom to wash his face. 

Loz was flicking through a book and Kadaj, sat next to him with a towel on his wet head, was reading a newspaper, looking rather grown up as his eyes scanned the pages. However, as Yazoo noticed when he sat next to him, this was not the case, since Kadaj was merely reading the cartoon strips. Kadaj looked up and giggled.

"You've got toothpaste on the side of your mouth," he said. Yazoo immediately raised a hand to wipe it off, feeling a sudden rush of embarrassment, but Kadaj took it off for him, rubbing his sleeve against Yazoo's cheek somewhat roughly. Loz chuckled.

"We were going to go wake you up, but you were sound asleep, so we gave you a lie in," Loz said. "I persuaded Kadaj not to attack you with a pillow. Here. Your breakfast."

Yazoo took his breakfast of pancakes gratefully, which were evidently made by Loz since they tasted so good. He finished within minutes, checking the time and going to the hallway to put on his trainers. They were worn and going grey, but with very little gil left since spending it on their guns, their money was spent wisely. The money that had been stolen from Evangeline and Dominic's Country Inn had served them well; Loz and Yazoo had resorted to pickpocketing and shoplifting in order to overcome their financial problems. And with enough money, the three brothers had agreed on buying the pile bunker and gun.

What both Loz and Kadaj didn't know though, was that Yazoo had been saving up his own lot of money, little snippets taken away from his daily rounds of shoplifting and kept hidden under the sink in the bathroom.

As Yazoo set off with his order form in hand, he could hear Loz shouting warnings of saying no to strangers and to look before he crossed roads. He smiled inwardly as Kadaj yelled, "Shoot the strangers niichan!"

The walk there was quite chilly, with a harsh wind and greyish clouds passing the sun that threatened to bring down rain, but Yazoo always liked the outside, whether it was sunny or dismal, day or night. He loved to feel warmth on his back, or see his reflection in big puddles, rippling as his foot stepped in them.

The SOLDIER weaponry store was empty save for the manager Alexander Frest and an old man who Yazoo wondered was doing in a shop that produced weapons. He waited at the counter patiently, noting that Frest seemed to be taking an unnecessarily long time in arranging several guns in a glass case. Finally though, he walked behind the counter, snatched Yazoo's order form and greeted him with a half-hearted, "A pleasure to see you again, Mr. Gast. Your order has come."

With a bored wave of his hand, Frest gestured behind him. "If you'd like to follow me through to the back, you can take a look at them and see if they will do."

Yazoo stepped carefully over a box of cartridges, observing the slapdash state of the store and wondering if Frest ever cared about risk assessments, followed the manager into a dim room that was lit by a single light bulb hanging in the corner of the room.

"This one's the pile bunker for your brother – its measurements have been checked, so it will fit your brother comfortably." Frest gestured to the pile bunker, and leaning over to examine it, Yazoo struggled to restrain his excitement in seeing what Loz was so desperate to have.

"Yes, that's great, that'll do fine," he said breathlessly.

"Sadly, it's a bit heavier than I expected," said Frest, "so it might take a bit of time to get used--"

"Weight's no problem with Loz," Yazoo said absently, mesmerised by what was next to the pile bunker. Frest shut the lid to the black case the pile bunker sat in, and turned to an identical box next to it, boasting two silvery-white guns. They lay on their sides on a smooth purplish cloth of velvet, sparkling and untouched.

"These are your guns. Lightweight and of a sensible size, this beauty'll be no problem for you." Frest took a slip of paper out from a pocket in the box. "The company who made the base of the gun – everything minus the pretty design it has – have said this particular kind of gun works well when you have two of them, hence the other one here, free of charge. You can of course, opt to stick with just one, since using two guns isn't easy…"

"I'll take them both," Yazoo replied straight away. "What about the cartridges?"

"Included with your purchase," said Frest. "You can restock at all sorts of weapon stores. Though your design is unique, the actual gun isn't. The same applies to your brother's pile bunker."

Yazoo watched as Frest shut the lid to the two guns, stacking the box on top of the pile bunker.

"There we go, a perfect order. Most customers usually complain about how their weapons look." Frest looked irritable for a moment, but it changed to an expression of curiosity as Yazoo took out from his pocket a large amount of gil – his secret savings.

"I've got another order to place," Yazoo said, "for my other brother."

"The titch?" Frest said immediately. "The one who was trying to steal cartridges?"

"That's the one." Yazoo smiled very faintly, remembering this happy thought, but to Frest, an enigmatic smile from Yazoo didn't look friendly at all.

"Er…okay…" he said, heading out the room back to the shop with the two boxes, dumping them on the counter. "Er…what is it you're looking for?"

"A sword."

Frest passed him a catalogue, watching Yazoo beadily as though suspecting for him to try and steal it. Yazoo turned the pages, not impressed with long, flimsy looking swords, and swords that were so big, he wondered if they could even be lifted. One of the swords on page 9 caught his eye though. It looked almost like a pair of scissors if Yazoo used his imagination a lot.

"Souba?" he read. Frest looked up from a paperclip he was bending round his finger.

"Eh? Oh, yeah, that's Souba, a very old type of sword that's barely used nowadays. Two blades, one's shadow like – it can barely be seen once that sword swings. Lightweight but amazingly strong."

Frest spoke proudly, and Yazoo assumed so since the price was so hefty. Still, he could afford it.

"I'd like to order Souba," he said. "I like the design it already has, except maybe you could change the handle to be blue and white. Black and white is a bit boring."

Frest made a note of it. "And measurements?"

"I haven't a clue," Yazoo said swiftly. "My brother will pick up this sword in several years' time. He would've grown a lot by then. I've used my own measurements as an estimate, base it around those."

"Understood," Frest answered. He filled in an order form, ripped off its top sheet and handed it to Yazoo, checking the payment given to him greedily. Yazoo looked over at his signature 'Y.Gast' automatically, pleased with his name and liking the ring it had.

Frest looked all the more eager for Yazoo to leave the shop, and he did so, ambling out with two heavy boxes. This however did nothing to bring Yazoo's mood down; in fact, the weight of the boxes spurred him no to reach back home quickly, excited to show them their new purchases.

The door was already open as Yazoo reached it, where stood there was Loz, twisting his fingers impatiently. His eyes were wide and anxious, and Yazoo wasn't surprised to hear Loz's first words as, "Did you get it? The pile bunker?"

"Yes," Yazoo replied, "let me come inside and I'll show you."

Kadaj was leaning over the banister of the staircase, singing loudly, "Presents, lots of presents" to a tune Yazoo assumed the youngest brother had made up. Almost immediately after Yazoo had set down the boxes on the coffee table, did Loz reach for the larger box, opening it and promptly, burst into tears.

"It looks so much better for real than in a newspaper," he blubbered into his sleeve as he wiped his nose, using his other hand to touch the weapon almost nervously, as though he might break it.

Kadaj had taken the liberty to open Yazoo's box, mouthing a "Wow" as he looked at the pearly guns. Yazoo said pointedly, "They're mine, Kadaj. This is yours."

He held up his order form, and unsurprisingly, Kadaj wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms.

"What do I want a piece of paper for? Blow my nose on?" he scoffed. Loz looked as though he desperately needed something to blow his nose on, and absently, Yazoo passed him a tissue.

"You're so narrow minded Kadaj," Yazoo sighed, "it's not any piece of paper, it's an order form. You'll need it to pick up a present I bought for you."

At the mention of the word 'present', Kadaj snatched the paper, reading it quickly and muttering to himself.

"Souba? What's a Souba?" he demanded. Yazoo leaned back against the sofa, taken aback somewhat as Loz clutched onto him, still sobbing. "What's a Souba, niichan?"

Yazoo pondered for a few moments, patting Loz's head and eyeing the untouched guns on the table. Then, looking at Kadaj's impatient face, answered slyly, "…Who knows?"

**---The End---**

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**A/N: It's finished! -bursts into tears- Oh no! But hey, fifteen chapters is relatively good (for my standards, and I actually finished a story!). I hope it was a decent end to this fic… 

Most importantly, I must give a **huge** thank you and a cyberhug to people who have reviewed, you know who you are :) especially those who've stuck with me since I started, and helped me to get past the first couple of chapters. Without you guys, I'd've never completed this fic. This was my first FFVII based story, so to have received such kind encouragement really meant something. So, thank you everyone!

My next fanfic is called **Ameagari – After the Rain**. It will be similar to this one, but I really want to focus on Yazoo and Loz's relationship with each other (as well as Kadaj), as it's evident in the movie how close they are. I'll also attempt to solve the mysteries of how they acquired their cell phones and leather uniform, and how the hell Yazoo can drive a truck.

Til then, people! I hope you'll stick with me and read the next fic :)


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